Transport ministry officials quoted on state television said the collision was probably caused by a malfunction in the Port Said train that brought it to a halt. Egypt’s transport minister has ordered an investigation into the crash, pledging to “hold accountable” whoever was responsible, state television reported. It was the deadliest train accident in the north African country since a November 2013 collision between a train and a bus killed 27 people south of Cairo. The victims had been returning from a wedding when the train ploughed into their bus and a truck at a railway crossing. In Egypt’s deadliest train accident, in 2002, 373 people died when a fire ripped through a crowded train south of the capital.

Source: The Guardian August 11, 2017 14:47 UTC