Train carrying army recruits crashes in Egypt, 17 killed

Cairo: A military train carrying young recruits to army camp derailed in a Cairo suburb on January 14, 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 neighborhood of Badrashin, a security source said, adding the train was a military vehicle carrying conscripted youth on their way to an army camp.

The injured passengers were taken to hospitals, Ahmed Omar, the health ministry spokesman, told the state news agency MENA. 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.

In November, at least 50 people, mostly children, were killed when a train slammed into a school bus.

In November, at least 50 people, mostly children, were killed when a train slammed into a school bus as it crossed the tracks at a rail crossing south of Cairo, further inflaming public anger at Egypt's shoddy transport network.

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