Train crash in southern Egypt kills at least 32, injures 165
Cairo, Mar 27: Two trains crashed Friday in southern Egypt, killing at least 32 people and injuring 165, authorities said in the latest of a series of deadly accidents on the country's troubled railways.
Someone apparently activated the emergency brakes on the passenger train, and it was rear-ended by another train, causing two cars to derail and flip on their side, Egypt's Railway Authorities said, although Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly later added that no cause has been determined.
The passenger train was headed to the Mediterranean port of Alexandria, north of Cairo, rail officials said.
Video showed twisted piles of metal with passengers covered with dust trapped inside some bleeding and others unconscious. Bystanders removed the dead and laid them on the ground nearby.
One passenger was heard shouting on the video, Help us! People are dying! A female passenger appeared to be upside down, squeezed under the seats, and was crying, Get me out, boy!
More than 100 ambulances were sent to the scene in the province of Sohag, about 440 kilometers (270 miles) south of Cairo, Health Minister Hala Zayed said, and the injured were taken to four hospitals. Injuries included broken bones, cuts and bruises.
Two planes carrying a total of 52 doctors, mostly surgeons, were sent to Sohag, she added at a news conference in the province, accompanied by Madbouly, who added that a military plane would bring those needing special surgery to Cairo.
Chief Prosecutor Hamada el-Sawy was on the scene to investigate the crash, he said.
The (railway) service has been neglected for decades to an extent that made it quite outdated and extremely dangerous, Madbouly told reporters. We have spent billions to upgrade the railway but we still have a long way to go in order to complete all the required work.
The government will pay the equivalent of 6,400 in compensation to each family that had a relative killed, Madbouly said, while the injured will get between 1,280 to 2,560, depending on how badly they were hurt.
President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said he was monitoring the situation and that those responsible would receive a deterrent punishment.
The pain that tears our hearts today cannot but make us more determined to end this type of disasters, he wrote on his Facebook page.
Egypt's rail system has a history of badly maintained equipment and mismanagement, and official figures said there were 1,793 train accidents in 2017.
In 2018, a passenger train derailed near the southern city of Aswan, injuring at least six people and prompting authorities to fire the chief of the country's railways.
The same year, el-Sissi said the government needed about 250 billion Egyptian pounds ( 14.1 billion) to overhaul the rail system. Those remarks came a day after a passenger train collided with a cargo train, killing at least 12 people.
A year earlier, two passenger trains collided just outside Alexandria, killing 43. In 2016, at least 51 people were killed when two commuter trains collided near Cairo.
Egypt's deadliest train crash was in 2002, when over 300 people were killed after fire broke out in a train traveling from Cairo to southern Egypt.
#VIDEO: More than 30 people killed, 91 others injured after trains collide in #Egypt. (from @EgyptTodayMag) pic.twitter.com/EPcW9PRwXH
— Saudi Gazette (@Saudi_Gazette) March 26, 2021
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International Federation of Journalists says 128 journalists killed worldwide in 2025
Majority killed in conflict zones
Brussels, Belgium: A total of 128 journalists lost their lives across the world in 2025, with more than half of the deaths recorded in the Middle East, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said on Thursday.
According to the global press body, the Palestinian territories accounted for the highest number of fatalities, with 56 media professionals killed as Israel’s war with Hamas continued in Gaza. IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger described the situation as unprecedented, saying the concentration of deaths in such a small geographical area over a short period had not been seen before.
“This is not just a statistic. It is a global red alert for our colleagues,” Bellanger told AFP, warning that the scale of violence against journalists reflected a deepening crisis for press freedom worldwide.
Journalists were also killed in several other countries during the year, including Yemen, Ukraine, Sudan, Peru and India. This shows the risks faced by media workers in both conflict zones and politically volatile regions.
Bellanger also criticised the lack of accountability for attacks on journalists, arguing that impunity continued to fuel violence against the press. Without justice, he said, those responsible for targeting journalists are emboldened to continue.
The IFJ report said 533 journalists were currently imprisoned, a figure that has more than doubled over the past five years. China remained the world’s largest jailer of journalists, with 143 reporters detained, including several in Hong Kong, where the imposition of national security laws has drawn criticism from Western governments.
The IFJ noted that its death toll is typically higher than figures released by other watchdogs due to differences in methodology. Its count for 2025 includes nine journalists who died in accidents. In comparison, Reporters Without Borders reported 67 journalists killed in the line of duty during the year, while UNESCO placed the number at 93.
