19 dead in military train derailment in Egypt

CAIRO - A military train derailed in Egypt early Tuesday, killing at least 19 conscripts and injuring 107 others, a spokesman from the Health Ministry said in a statement to official MENA news agency.

The train carrying new recruits was traveling from south Egypt to their military camp in Cairo and the two carriages of the train derailed in Giza's Badrasheen district, South of Cairo, said the statement.

A damaged train carriage is pictured at a farm following a military train crash in the Giza neighbourhood of Badrashin, Egypt, Jan 15, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

Around 66 ambulances rushed to the scene to send the injured to the nearby hospital, said Ahmed Omar, the ministry's spokesman.

Meanwhile, Egypt's newly-appointed Prosecutor General, Talat Ibrahim Abdullah ordered an urgent investigation into the accident, asserting that those responsible will be referred to the criminal courts.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Hesham Qandil has cancelled his visit to Cairo's Maasarah district so as to follow the developments of the accident.

For his part, Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim went to the site of the accident and ordered policemen to spare no efforts to rescue the injured.

The nearby citizens brought food and blankets for the survivors, who spent their night in the mosques, local Ahram Website said.

The general prosecutor for South Giza, Ahmed El Bahrawi, has ordered to form a technical committee to check the carriages to find out the reasons behind the accident.

In last November, a train collided with a school bus in southern Egypt leaving dozens of children killed. Shortly after the tragedy, Egyptian transportation minister resigned.