Passengers jump for their lives as train cars separate in Egypt’s latest railway mishap

This file photo shows the wreckage of a train collision on the outskirts of Alexandria on Aug. 11, 2017. Another accident happened on the same route on April 25, 2021. (AFP)
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  • Witnesses say panicky passengers jumped from train doors
  • Fortunately, no one was killed or injured in the accident

CAIRO: Northern Egypt’s Alexandria governorate witnessed a train accident at dawn on Sunday, as carriages separated in the Abu Qir area before entering Al-Mamoura station, in the east of the governorate.

No one was killed or injured during the incident. Egypt’s National Railways Authority sent a technical crew to the scene. The separated carriage was reinstalled by the team, allowing the train to continue its journey. The service resumed within two hours.

According to a security source, the Alexandria Governorate Operations Room received a tip that a vehicle had been disconnected from the Cairo-to-Abu Qir train, just before it reached the Al-Mamoura station. 

Eyewitnesses shared videos of the reattachment of the separated carriage to the train on social media.

Train passenger Mona Essam said that when the accident happened, chaos ensued, and passengers started jumping from the train doors.

“We did not know what was happening until we learned that the train’s carriage had separated,” she said.

Egyptian media indicated that ambulances arrived at the site of the incident.

The country has seen several train accidents recently, which has resulted in dozens of deaths and injuries.