Toukh train accident
{{Short description|2021 Train derailment in Egypt}}
{{Infobox public transit accident
| name = Toukh train accident
| image =
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| caption =
| image_map =
| image_map_alt =
| image_map_caption =
| pushpin_map =
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption =
| coordinates =
| date = 18 April 2021
| time =
| location = Toukh, Qalyubiyya Governorate
| location_dir =
| location_city =
| location_dist_km =
| location_dist_mi =
| country = Egypt
| line =
| operator =
| owner =
| service =
| type =
| cause =
| bus =
| trains =
| vehicles =
| passengers =
| crew =
| pedestrians =
| deaths = 23
| injuries = 139
| damage =
| property =
| route_map =
| route_map_state =
| route_map_name =
| footnotes =
}}
On 18 April 2021, a train derailed in the city of Toukh in Qalyubiyya Governorate, Egypt.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/18/africa/egypt-train-derailment-intl/index.html|title=At least 11 killed, 98 injured in Egypt as train derails|publisher=CNN|date=18 April 2021|access-date=19 April 2021|archive-date=19 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419005336/https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/18/africa/egypt-train-derailment-intl/index.html|url-status=live}} The accident left 23 people dead and another 139 injured,{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-egypt-crash-idUSKBN2C731S|title=Egypt: 11 dead, 98 injured after train derails near Cairo|publisher=Reuters|date=20 April 2021|access-date=22 April 2021|archive-date=15 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210615150253/https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/egypts-sunday-train-accident-killed-23-says-public-prosecutor-2021-04-20/|url-status=live}} trapping several under overturned carriages.{{cite web|date=18 April 2021|title=Eleven dead, 98 injured after train derails in Egypt|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/several-people-hurt-after-train-derails-egypt-2021-04-18/|publisher=Reuters|access-date=18 April 2021|archive-date=18 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418134344/https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/several-people-hurt-after-train-derails-egypt-2021-04-18/|url-status=live}} It was the third major train accident in Egypt recorded in less than a month. Considering the commonality of train wrecks and mishaps in Egypt, prosecutors blamed the negligence of railway employees and the country’s mismanagement.{{cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/middle-east_egypt-least-11-killed-about-100-injured-train-crash-north-cairo/6204745.html|title=Egypt: At Least 11 Killed, About 100 Injured in Train Crash North of Cairo|access-date=10 April 2021|publisher=Voice of America|archive-date=18 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418195326/https://www.voanews.com/middle-east/egypt-least-11-killed-about-100-injured-train-crash-north-cairo|url-status=live}}
Investigation
Preliminary investigations attributed the incident to the increased speed of the Toukh train, which was travelling at 120 km/h on a stretch not designed for speeds exceeding 30 km/h.{{Cite web|last=القاهرة|first=اليوم-|date=2021-04-18|title=قطار طوخ.. التحقيقات الأولية تكشف سبب الحادث وسر"صوت الانفجار "|url=https://www.alyaum.com/articles/6318723/القارات-السبع/قطار-طوخ-التحقيقات-الأولية-تكشف-سبب-الحادث-وسرصوت-الانفجار-|access-date=2021-05-20|website=alyaum|language=Arabic|archive-date=2021-04-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418182620/https://www.alyaum.com/articles/6318709/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%A8%D8%B9/%D8%B7%D9%88%D9%83%D9%8A%D9%88-%D8%AA%D8%B3%D8%AC%D9%84-543-%D8%A5%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A9-%D8%AC%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B3-%D9%83%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%86%D8%A7|url-status=live}} The train's driver, the driver's assistant, and all of the workers of the signs and towers in the area where the crash took place, were taken into custody as part of the investigation.{{Cite web|title=السلطات المصرية تحقق مع طاقم قطار طوخ وعمال الإشارات|url=https://www.skynewsarabia.com/middle-east/1430825-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%AD%D9%81%D8%B8-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%8A%D9%94%D9%82-%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%B7%D9%88%D8%AE-%D9%88%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AF%D9%87-%D8%A7%D9%95%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%AD%D9%82%D9%8A%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%AA|access-date=2021-05-20|website=سكاي نيوز عربية|language=ar}}
Response
President Abdel Fattah Sisi commissioned Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly to form a committee, to be made up of members of the Administrative Control Authority, the Armed Forces Engineering Authority, and the Military Technical College, to determine the cause of the accident.{{Cite web|title=السيسي يكلف الحكومة بالتحقيق في أسباب حادث قطار طوخ|url=https://www.skynewsarabia.com/middle-east/1430777-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%B3%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%94%D9%85%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D8%AA%D8%B4%D9%83%D9%8A%D9%84-%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%86%D8%A9-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%AD%D9%82%D9%8A%D9%82-%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%AB-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B1|access-date=2021-05-20|website=سكاي نيوز عربية|language=ar|archive-date=2021-04-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418181610/https://www.skynewsarabia.com/middle-east/1430777-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%B3%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%94%D9%85%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D8%AA%D8%B4%D9%83%D9%8A%D9%84-%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%86%D8%A9-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%AD%D9%82%D9%8A%D9%82-%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%AB-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B1|url-status=live}} The transport minister, Kamel Al -Wazir, visited the site of the crash, and declared that those responsible would be held to account.{{Cite web|title=وزير النقل المصري يتعهد بمحاسبة المتسببين في حادث قطار طوخ|url=https://www.skynewsarabia.com/middle-east/1430775-%D8%AA%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%82-%D9%88%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D9%82%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%AB-%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%B7%D9%88%D8%AE|access-date=2021-05-20|website=سكاي نيوز عربية|language=ar|archive-date=2021-04-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418180832/https://www.skynewsarabia.com/middle-east/1430775-%D8%AA%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%82-%D9%88%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D9%82%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%AB-%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%B7%D9%88%D8%AE|url-status=live}} The Ministry of Health redirected 58 ambulances to the scene to transport the injured.{{Cite web|date=2021-04-18|title=الصحة: إصابة 97 مواطنًا في حادث قطار طوخ - بوابة الأهرام|url=https://gate.ahram.org.eg/News/2695377.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418134158/https://gate.ahram.org.eg/News/2695377.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=2021-04-18|access-date=2021-05-20}} Ashraf Raslan, head of the Egyptian railway authority, was fired in the aftermath of the incident.{{Cite web|title=Egypt Fires Top Railway Official after Deadly Train Crashes|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/africa_egypt-fires-top-railway-official-after-deadly-train-crashes/6204902.html|access-date=2021-05-21|website=Voice of America|language=en|archive-date=2021-05-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521190639/https://www.voanews.com/africa/egypt-fires-top-railway-official-after-deadly-train-crashes|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=2021-04-21|title=Egypt's Railways Chief Fired In Wake of Fatal Train Accident|url=https://themedialine.org/headlines/egypts-railways-chief-fired-in-wake-of-fatal-train-accident/|access-date=2021-05-21|website=The Media Line|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-05-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521113013/https://themedialine.org/headlines/egypts-railways-chief-fired-in-wake-of-fatal-train-accident/|url-status=live}}
See also
- Sohag train collision, another train crash which took place in Egypt three weeks earlier
- List of rail accidents in Egypt
References
{{reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Railway accidents in Egypt}}
{{Railway accidents and incidents in 2021}}
{{coord missing|Egypt}}
Category:2021 disasters in Egypt
Category:Qalyubiyya Governorate
Category:Railway accidents in 2021
{{Rail-accident-stub}}
{{Egypt-hist-stub}}