More than 20 people were killed and at least 43 were injured after a train crash at Cairo’s Ramses station in Egypt.
The train, travelling at high-speed, collided with the buffers and metal end railing, causing its diesel fuel tank to explode and triggering a fire at the station.
The fire spread quickly, engulfing the station platform and adjacent areas.
Egypt’s public prosecutor was quoted by Reuters as saying that the preliminary investigation suggests negligence from the driver and associated supervisors.
The driver reportedly stepped out of the train, leaving it unattended and causing the locomotive to speed up and hit the platform.
Later, Egyptian state television said that the train driver had been taken into custody.
Footage of the incident was procured from the station security cameras, which showed the fire spreading quickly and passengers fleeing.
Firefighters and ambulances rushed to the Cairo station to douse the fire and begin the rescue operations, however, many of the bodies recovered from the site could not be identified due to severe burns.
An extensive investigation of the incident has already been ordered to identify the causes of the deadly accident.
Egyptian Transport Minister Hisham Arafat resigned following the incident.
Failures and accidents are common across the Egyptian railway network due to mismanagement and antiquated infrastructure. In 2017, there were 1,793 train accidents across Egypt, including a passenger train collision in Alexandria that caused more than 40 fatalities.
