Egypt: Several killed in passenger train collision
March 26, 2021
Two passenger trains have crashed into each other leaving at least 19 dead and almost 200 injured. On Saturday, the Health Ministry revised down the initial death toll of 32.
The two passenger trains collided in central EgyptImage: REUTERS
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A collision between two passenger trains in central Egypt on Friday left at least 19 people dead and 185 injured, the Egyptian Health Ministry said.
Health Minister Hala Zayed told reporters on Saturday that an initial toll of 32 killed in the crash was revised down, while the number of injured rose from 165.
"After we honed in on the details of those killed and injured... at this moment there are 185 injured and 19 corpses," Zayed said.
What happened?
Three passenger cars were flipped over in the collision. Videos from the scene depicted people still trapped inside.
Dozens of ambulances raced to the scene of the crash in the Tahta district of Sohag province, around 460 kilometers (285 miles) south of the capital, Cairo.
Egypt's railway authority said the accident was caused by an unknown individual applying the emergency brakes in the first train, which was subsequently hit by the train behind, causing two carriages to derail.
"The trains collided while going at not very high speeds, which led to the destruction of two carriages and a third to overturn," a security source told Reuters.
"The [railway] service has been neglected for decades to an extent that made it quite outdated and extremely dangerous," Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly told reporters after he arrived to the scene.
"We have spent billions to upgrade the railway but we still have a long way to go in order to complete all the required work.''
Egypt's history of deadly train accidents
Egypt has a history of train accidents caused by poorly maintained equipment and bad management. Official figures recorded 1,793 train accidents in 2017.
More than 300 people were killed in Egypt's deadliest train accident when a speeding train caught fire in 2003.
In 2018, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said that the government needed around 250 billion Egyptian pounds ($14.1 billion, €11.97 billion) in order to bring the country's run-down railway system up-to-date.
Egypt has one of the oldest and largest railway networks in Africa.
Suez Canal: $10 billion in goods stuck in waterway
The container ship Ever Given has been blocking the Suez Canal for days. Economic fallout is already visible and it could take weeks — and require drastic measures — to free the waterway.
Image: Suez Canal Authority/dpa/picture alliance
Container ship still lodged in canal
Efforts to dislodge the Ever Given, a 400-meter (1,300-foot) container ship that has been blocking the Suez Canal in Egypt since Tuesday, are ongoing as excavators remove sand and mud from the ship's bow while tugboats try to move it. Japanese owner Shoei Kisen has asked for forgiveness and said the job was proving "extremely difficult."
Image: Suez Canal Authority/dpa/picture alliance
Could take weeks to refloat
Dislodging the ship is expected to take about a week, possibly longer, as news agency Bloomberg reported Friday. The Suez Canal Authority, which operates the waterway, has not provided an update on when the canal will be navigable once again. The container ship, which sails under Panamanian flag, is wedged diagonally across the vital transport link.
Image: Suez Canal Authority via Egyptian Cabinet Facebook Page/dpa/picture alliance
Hundreds of ships waiting
Economic fallout began as soon as the Ever Given ran aground, with the price of crude oil fluctuating wildly. At least 200 vessels are backed up at both ends of the canal — at Port Said on the Mediterranean and Suez on the Red Sea — as well as in the canal itself, according to Lloyd's List, a data analyst specializing in container traffic.
Image: Yan Liang/Xinhua/Zuma/picture alliance
Suez Canal (usually) saves ships time
The Suez Canal, which separates the continent of Africa from the Middle East and Asia, is one of the busiest trade routes in the world, handling about 12% of all world trade. The passage saves ships some 7,000 kilometers (4,300 miles) of travel compared to the route around the southern tip of Africa.
Image: Cnes2021/AP/picture alliance
$10 billion in goods are blocked
In addition to oil, consumer goods such as clothing, furniture and auto parts are transported through the canal. Richard Meade of Lloyd's List wrote on Twitter that westbound traffic was estimated to be worth about $5.1 billion (€4.3 billion) a day. Eastbound traffic is worth some $4.5 billion. This means that about $10 billion worth of goods are now blocked.
Image: Mohamed Abd El Ghany/REUTERS
Russia, Saudi Arabia particularly affected
"Every port in western Europe will feel the effects," said a spokesman for the Dutch port of Rotterdam, the EU's largest. Russia and Saudi Arabia, which send the most oil through the canal, are likely to be particularly affected. According to analysts at Vortexa, India and China are the largest oil importers using the canal. The blockade is also likely to be costly for the German economy.
Image: Suez Canal Authority/REUTERS
Worst-case scenario: Sink the containers
The Ever Given is one of the largest cargo ships in the world. If it ends up not being possible to refloat the boat, part of its cargo may have to be destroyed. According to Bloomberg, that could mean removing containers from the ship and possibly sinking them.
Image: Mohamed Abd El Ghany/REUTERS
More than 50 ships a day
According to the Suez Canal Authority, 19,000 ships passed through the canal in 2020 — more than 50 a day. Container ships account for about 26% of all traffic on the canal, which is dominated by oil tankers. In 2019, a total of 600 million tons of goods were transported through the Egyptian waterway.
