The Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population announced on Sunday an elevated medical alert for hospitals to monitor the health situation on the ground following a train collision in Minya.
The ministry confirmed the dispatch of 23 ambulances to the accident site and raised the highest alert level, noting that 20 passengers were initially reported injured in the collision.
Civil protection forces are currently attempting to rescue passengers of the Minya train, following the derailment of two carriages as a result of the collision between two trains in the Maqousa village near the Minya governorate.
In Minya, two trains collided while traveling on the railway tracks, resulting in several carriages falling into the Ibrahimia Canal. The causes and circumstances of the incident are currently under investigation.
The Railway Authority in a press statement disclosed that the collision occurred when a locomotive struck the rear of train 1087, the power car of the sleeping train coming from Aswan towards Cairo, between Abu Qurqas and Minya. This resulted in the power car and another carriage falling off. Emergency equipment and cranes were immediately deployed, the carriages were detached, and the train continued its journey towards Cairo.
Minister of Industry and Transport, Kamel El-Wazir, instructed the Deputy Minister of Transport for Railways and Electric Traction and the head of the Railway Authority to go to the accident site and form a committee of railway experts to determine the technical reasons behind the accident.
