Ebeid inspects incident scene
Egypt, Local, 2/21/2002

Egyptian Prime Minister Atef Ebeid moved to the incident scene where he got a principled report on the indicant.

Prime Minister Atef Ebeid expressed the government's sorrow over the Cairo-Aswan ill-fated train that went ablaze at dawn Wednesday claiming the lives of some 370 passengers.

During a news conference at Al-Ayyat hospital following his inspection of the scene of the train accident and an emergency meeting with the health, local development and insurance ministers, Ebeid said the concerned authorities are on full swing in an attempt to estimate the precise number and identity of the victims.

"A 45-strong team of doctors and rescue men has begun their work at 2:00 am (local time), 30- minutes after the accident which was believed to have occurred as a result of a fire that broke out in one coach of the train and extended to seven others, "said Ebeid.

"Ninty ambulances and 60 fire engines rushed to the scene, immediately after the incident took place," Ebeid added.

He called upon the relatives of those who were aboard the Cairo-Aswan train to contact the railway police department to identify the bodies.

"According to initial reports, the fire occurred due to the explosion of a stove, on which food was being prepared, " Ebeid said

Ebeid denied that such an incident was due to a terrorist operation. "We should not spread rumors of such a kind," Ebeid stressed.

He noted there were complete coordination between, the ministries of the interior health and local development to offer all the facilities available in this connection.

"The government will pay the costs of moving the bodies to their families and other relevant costs," Ebeid said.

Transport Minister Ibrahim Demiri decided to form a technical committee from the Railways Authority to find out the cause of the fire.

Speaking to Middle East News Agency (MENA), head of the National Authority for Railways Ahmed sharif said Demiri, decided to cut his visit to Canada and return immediately after knowing the incident.

He put the damage that was inflicted on seven coaches of the train at LE 70,000 for every one of the seven completely burnt train coaches.

Initial reports indicated that one of the passengers was using a small butane gas cooker that exploded, setting the back coaches of the train ablaze.

Minister of Health Ismail Sallam has been following up the accident and has ordered the treatment of wounded at the site of the accident south of Cairo.

Most of the wounded are being treated at Al-Ayyat hospital, south of Cairo, he added. "The rest were taken to Om Al Massreyeen, Al Hawamdeya, Al Badrasheen and Al Wasta hospitals," he said.

Some 50 ambulances rushed to the scene, 10 of them for intensive care, ad four medical teams were sent to the hospitals to treat the wounded, he added.

"Several passengers jumped off the moving train when it caught fire, ad they are receiving treatment at the scene," he said.

Police and judicial authorities rushed to the scene to investigate the causes of the accident and to hear the accounts of eyewitnesses and technicians.

The Ayyat police station in Giza on Wednesday received a notice that a fire had broke out in some of the coaches of the 832 train on the Cairo -Aswan route between the villages of kafr Ammar and Al Rekka.

Giza Governor Mahmoud Abul Leil said that the 11-coach train took off from Giza station at 11:30 Tuesday evening and the accident took place immediately after passing Al-Ayyat stop.

The driver managed to stop the train and separate its front coaches from the burning back ones.

All necessary measures are under way now to bring the railway movement back to normal, he pointed out.

President Hosni Mubarak Wednesday expressed deep sorrow over the train fire incident that claimed the lives of many passengers.

The President voiced condolences to the families of the victims and made contacts with a number of officials to follow up the conditions of the wounded.

Attorney General Maher Abdel Wahed on Wednesday asked 45 forensic exports to examine the burnt carriages of the Cairo -Aswan train that caught fire early Wednesday morning as well as the bodies of the victims and passengers injured in the accident.

Meanwhile, Abdel wahed inspected the site of the accident and urged that an investigation be launched immediately.

Deputy director of Al Ayyat hospital Dr. Abdel-Raouf Badr told MENA the hospital received so far 96 bodies, only 28 of them were identified. "Some 39 injured have checked in," he added.

Previous Stories:
  A train fire killed over 300 passengers in Egypt   (2/20/2002)
  SCA receives 17,000 archeological pieces from citizen   (2/16/2002)
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