Cairo: On Wednesday, at least 20 people were killed and dozens injured when a train crashed and caught fire at Cairo's main train station which resulting in the resignation of Transport Minister Hesham Arafat. On Wednesday, the train engine at high speed slammed into the buffers at the end of the track at the main railway station in downtown Cairo. A state-run news was told by a security source website that the crash was caused due to the explosion of the fuel tank which triggered the fire. Witnesses have said that passengers carrying luggage ran for their lives as the blaze spread quickly. At least 20 people were killed and more than 40 others were injured in the accident.
"The explosion was horrible. I saw two men flying out of the train's windows with their bodies on fire", said a passenger named Ali Kamal said. It was difficult to rescue anyone, he added. Dozens of ambulances and fire-fighters had rushed to the scene and hosed down the charred wreckage of the train as security forces guarded the site. Eyewitnesses and hospital sources have informed that the corpses were completely burned and most of the wounded are of second or third-degree burn and in critical conditions.
Accompanied by the Transport Minister Arafat, Health Minister Hala Zayed and Social Solidarity Minister Ghada Wali, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly went to the crash site. Hours after the visit, Transport Minister resigned from his post. "There will be no leniency or complacency in holding those responsible for the accident accountable", Madbouly said at the station, stressing that "the era of keeping silent on those who fail to do their duties toward the Egyptian citizens is over." A compensation of 80,000 Egyptian pounds (about 4,570 U.S. dollars) for the family of the deceased or each person with a consequent total disability and 25,000 pounds (1,425 dollars) for each of the wounded has been announced by the cabinet.
Arafat in last April had announced a project to renovate the country's old railway system by 2022, with a total cost of 55 billion Egyptian pounds (about 3.1 billion dollars). The driver has been arrested as well. Urgent investigations have been ordered into the incident. "I have instructed the government to immediately rush to the accident scene to follow up the situation and hold those responsible accountable after the results of an accurate investigation", said Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi in a joint press conference.
Sisi said he also ordered a follow-up of the health conditions of the wounded and a provision of all necessary care for them and their families, offering sincere condolence to the families of the victims.