Egypt’s Railways Chief Fired In Wake of Fatal Train Accident
The head of Egypt’s railway authority was fired in the wake of several deadly train accidents. The move by the country’s transportation ministry came on Tuesday, two days after a train accident near Cairo in which four of the train cars were derailed, killing 11. Egyptian citizens had already called on social media for the resignation of railways authority head Ashraf Raslan.
Some 10 positions in Egypt’s transportation ministry, most in the railways department, were shuffled on Tuesday
Raslan and 23 railways employees were summoned on Tuesday by General Prosecutor Hamada el-Sawy over Sunday’s crash, The Associated Press reported. In addition, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi announced the establishment of an official commission to investigate the causes of the accident.
It was the third major train accident in Egypt in a month. Up to 32 people were killed and nearly 200 injured last month when two trains collided near Tahta. Another 15 people were injured earlier this month when two train cars derailed near Minya al-Qamh city.
