Egypt's prosecutor-general has tasked members of the prosecution with conducting investigations at the scene of a train accident in Giza where at least 55 people were injured, state-owned MENA news agency said. A number of the train's carriages derailed as it was on its way from Cairo to Upper Egypt's Qena on Friday. No fatalities have been reported. The Egyptian cabinet said in a statement that PM Mostafa Madbouly is following up on the situation and that investigations will be carried out to determine the circumstances behind the accident. Madbouly added that necessary procedures will be taken to deal "firmly" with the cause of the accident. The PM also highlighted the current plan to develop the country's ailing railway system to provide safety and security for passengers. A security source told Al-Ahram Arabic news website that the driver of the train and the rail switch operator have been detained over the accident. The health ministry said earlier that 25 ambulances were dispatched to the scene. Emergency workers and medics have been carrying out rescue operations. The three carriages derailed in Giza's Mazareeq, according to the Egyptian National Railways Authority (ERA). The transportation ministry said that Minister Hisham Arafat has headed to the site of the accident to follow up on the matter. Egypt's railway system has a poor safety record, with frequent deadly collisions often blamed on a lack of maintenance and poor management. Last February, 12 people were killed when a passenger train collided with a cargo train in the northern governorate of Beheira. In 2017, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi stressed the need to upgrade the railway network to prevent deadly accidents, saying that the system needs EGP 180 billion (about $10 billion) to be modernised. El-Sisi made the statements shortly after an August train disaster in Alexandria that killed 41 people and injured some 179.
