Egyptian officials say a train has crashed into two vehicles south of Cairo, killing at least 24 people and wounding 28 others.
The accident happened early Monday near Dhashur. Authorities say most of the victims were in a mini bus traveling back from a wedding when it was struck by the train.
Egypt's top rail official said initial reports indicated that gates at the railroad crossing were down at the time of the crash but the vehicle had continued onto the tracks.
Roads and railways in Egypt have a poor safety record due to a lack of maintenance and poor management, and locals have long complained that successive governments have failed to enforce even basic safeguards, leading to a string of deadly crashes.
In January, 19 people were killed when a train carrying military recruits derailed near Cairo.
Last November, a train crashed into a bus, killing 51 children on their way to school.
The country's worst train disaster was in 2002, when a fire ripped through seven carriages of an overcrowded passenger train, killing at least 360 people.
Egypt's interim government, appointed after the army ousted the country's first elected president, Mohamed Morsi, on July 3, announced plans to improve transportation as part of a $4.3 billion stimulus package.
Some information in this report was contributed by Reuters.
The accident happened early Monday near Dhashur. Authorities say most of the victims were in a mini bus traveling back from a wedding when it was struck by the train.
Egypt's top rail official said initial reports indicated that gates at the railroad crossing were down at the time of the crash but the vehicle had continued onto the tracks.
Roads and railways in Egypt have a poor safety record due to a lack of maintenance and poor management, and locals have long complained that successive governments have failed to enforce even basic safeguards, leading to a string of deadly crashes.
In January, 19 people were killed when a train carrying military recruits derailed near Cairo.
Last November, a train crashed into a bus, killing 51 children on their way to school.
The country's worst train disaster was in 2002, when a fire ripped through seven carriages of an overcrowded passenger train, killing at least 360 people.
Egypt's interim government, appointed after the army ousted the country's first elected president, Mohamed Morsi, on July 3, announced plans to improve transportation as part of a $4.3 billion stimulus package.
Some information in this report was contributed by Reuters.
