ADDS MINISTER’S RESIGNATION; REVISES DEATH TOLL
CAIRO (AA) - At least 20 people were killed and 43 injured when a fire tore through Cairo’s main train station on Wednesday, according to the Health Ministry.
Photos shared on social-media platforms showed clouds of smoke rising from central Cairo’s Ramses Train Station.
According to local media, the fire was caused by a fuel tank explosion that occurred after a train collided with a safety barrier.
At a subsequent press conference, Health Minister Hala Zayed confirmed that at least 20 people had been killed by the blaze and another 43 injured.
Most of the victims’ bodies, he said, had yet to be identified.
Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli has since visited the train station, where he vowed to bring responsible parties to account.
Egypt’s attorney-general, meanwhile, has also ordered an investigation into the incident.
Later Wednesday, Madbouli accepted the resignation of Transport Minister Hisham Arafat, which the latter tendered in the immediate wake of the fire.
Egypt’s railway system has a relatively poor safety record due to poor management and a lack of investment in rail infrastructure.
In 2002, more than 350 people were killed when fire ravaged a passenger train near Cairo.