17 dead in Egyptian train crash

A military train carrying young recruits to army camp derailed in a Cairo suburb on Tuesday (January 15), killing 17 people and injuring 103, Egypt's health ministry spokesman said.

The train was travelling from Upper Egypt to Cairo when it derailed in the Giza neighbourhood of Badrashin, a security source said, adding the train was a military vehicle carrying conscripted youth on their way to an army camp.

Large crowds could be seen gathered around the site of the accident, looking for casualties through the wreckage in the dark.

Officials said the injured passengers were taken to hospitals.

There was no further information available about the 17 dead.

Egypt's roads and railways have a poor safety record, and Egyptians have long complained that successive governments have failed to enforce even basic safeguards, leading to a string of deadly crashes.