Public Prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud ordered the detention of Ragab Mahmoud, assistant engineer of one of the two trains involved in Saturday's Ayyat train crash, for four days pending further investigation. Mahmoud was charged with failing to notify Ramses Train Station in central Cairo, along with other concerned bodies, that his train -- no. 152 -- had prematurely come to a halt. Investigations revealed that Mahmoud had had enough time to notify the Kafr Ammar Train Station and the central administration, yet failed to do so. In testimony delivered to Attorney-General Hamada el-Sawy, the accused driver alleged that there had not been sufficient time to alert nearby stations. Yet subsequent reviews of the times and distances involved revealed that a full 25 minutes elapsed before the crash -- long enough to issue a warning and possibly avoid collision. Head Public Prosecutor Ahmed el-Rakkib charged Mahmoud with dereliction of duty and the involuntary manslaughter of 18 passengers, along with causing damage to a public agency. The 6th of October investigations department arrested the driver, who had reportedly fled to the home of a relative in the Giza district shortly after the crash. Investigations led by el-Sawy made several new revelations. According to railway workers at the Al-Raqqa Train Station outside Cairo, train no. 152 ground to a halt before reaching them. They said that the signal tower -- which should indicate when a train is coming -- stopped flickering at 6:15 pm on the day of the accident. One signalman said he had tried to inform officials at Ramses Station that the train had stopped in order to warn of a potential catastrophe, but received no answer for 15 minutes. He said he had then contacted the Badrashein station, the supervisor of which he asked to call Ramses Station official Sheikh Hassan. The Badrashein officer recorded the call and forwarded it on to Ramses. "Please answer us, Sheikh Hassan," the call went. "The train had stopped at Garza. A catastrophe might occur." Supporting this account, the prosecution summoned Hassan, who was later found to have left his post half an hour early without ordering an assistant to take his place. The prosecution has assigned a panel of engineering professors, along with National Railways Authority (NRA) vice-manager and a transportation expert, to analyze the contents of the "black boxes" recovered from the wreckage. The team is expected to soon visit the site of the accident to examine signaling devices and the ATC machine, which is supposed to regulate train speed. The four men accused of responsibility for the catastrophe have each been detained for another week pending investigation. Their lawyers, meanwhile, have requested more time to obtain additional information. Energy Minister Hassan Younis, who was appointed acting transport minister in the wake of ex-transport minister Mohammed Mansour's resignation on Tuesday, called on NRA management to take all necessary steps to avoid similar accidents in the future and enhance overall passenger security. At a meeting on Wednesday with railway officials at energy ministry headquarters, Younis stressed the importance of the national railway system as a vital state asset. According to ministry sources, the acting transport minister has not yet taken any punitive action against those believed to be responsible for the crash since legal procedures are still ongoing. The same sources declined to comment on the fate of officials currently being investigated for their respective roles in the accident, including the head of the NRA. In a related development, Younis was absent from a Wednesday meeting of the Council of Arab Transport Ministers, delegating Tawfiq Abu Mendiya, head of the ministry's maritime transport sector, to attend in his place. Ministers stood for a moment of silence out of respect for those killed in the recent disaster. Meanwhile, several transportation experts have called for raising the educational qualifications of train drivers and engineers, pointing out that most drivers -- some 500 NRA engineers and assistant engineers -- have failed to cope with high-tech devices recently installed in new trains. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
