Egypt: Transport Minister resigns after train crash

Egypt’s minister of transport, Hisham Arafat, has resigned from his position in the wake of the train crash that killed Wednesday at least 20.

A cabinet statement said Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli has accepted Arafat’s resignation following the deadly train crash in Ramses Station, Cairo’s main one.

At least 20 people died in a large fire at the station after a train reportedly hit a buffer at high speech. The tank exploded in the crash.

The explosion caused a ball of fire that devastated the station platform.
The government has not identified the causes of the accident but will hold accountable those behind the negligence.

Egypt’s rail system safety record has become poor over aging trains, lack of maintenance and mismanagement.

In August 2017, 43 people died in the collision of two passenger trains outside the city of Alexandria and 100 other people were injured.

The country’s worst death toll linked to train accidents occurred in 2002. A fire engulfed an overcrowded train South of Cairo killing over 370 people.