15 people hurt as train derails in northern Egypt

Fifteen people were injured when a train derailed close to Minya El-Qamh station in Sharkia governorate, northern Egypt.

Khaled Mujahid, official spokesman for the Ministry of Health, said that 33 ambulances attended the scene of the accident and took the casualties to Minya El-Qamh Central Hospital. Six of the injured passengers were later discharged, he said, while the rest — who suffered minor and moderate injuries, including fractures, wounds, abrasions and bruises — continue to receive care and treatment.

Two carriages of the train, which was traveling from Cairo to Dakahlia, left the tracks on Wednesday night but did not overturn. The driver of a train traveling in the opposite direction on an adjacent track managed to stop in time to avoid a collision.

An initial inspection by an investigation team from the Egyptian Public Prosecution found maintenance work was going on in the area, which might have contributed to the accident. The injured passengers were being questioned by the investigators to help establish what happened.

The crash came less than three weeks after a collision between two trains in Sohag governorate, Upper Egypt, in which 20 people were killed and 169 wounded.