Fatal train crash may be buffalo's fault

A deadly collision between two passenger trains in Egypt was caused by a water buffalo which had wandered onto the track, officials said.

Eighteen people were killed and 39 others were wounded in the crash which happened south-west of the capital Cairo.

The accident began after the first train struck the animal and then stopped.

The service was then hit from the back by a second train which was travelling at full speed.

The official death toll has been lowered from one which originally said 25 people were killed and 55 injured.

No foreigners were reported among the casualties after the accident in the al Ayyat area of Giza, 25 miles from the capital.

The first train was travelling from Giza province to the oasis town of Fayoum, while the second was heading to the southern city of Assuit from Cairo.

Villager Samhi Saleh Abdel Al, 21, said: 'I was sat near the road at around six o'clock (1600 GMT) when I heard a deafening screeching, then shouts and I saw passengers jumping from the train.'

Egypt has a poor safety record on its railways, and there are several fatal accidents each year, usually blamed on poorly maintained equipment.

Al-Ayyat was the scene of Egypt's deadliest train crash, when the bodies of at least 361 passengers were recovered from a train following a fire in February, 2002.

More recently, a passenger train heading towards a station collided with a second train in August 2006, killing 58 people.

The train belonged to the country's oldest and most dilapidated third-class train service.


Source: skynews.com.au