DHAKA: A cargo train traveling south of Egypt`s capital slammed into vehicles crossing the tracks early Monday, killing at least 24 people, many from the same family returning from a wedding party.

Ahmed el-Ansari, the emergency services chief, told The Associated Press the identities of the dead were not immediately clear.

He said 28 people were injured, mostly with fractures, crush injuries and lost body parts, with some in critical condition. He said the scene had been cleared of victims.

The head of the Giza security sector, Kamal el-Dali, told the Nile News state TV station that most of the dead and injured were family members on a bus returning from a wedding in Cairo who had been heading to the southern city of Fayyoum.

El-Dali said the train, which carried construction materials, also hit a small truck coming from the opposite direction.

A security official said the train was traveling from the southern city of Beni Suef when it hit at least three vehicles near the village of Dahshur, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Cairo. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters.

Almost exactly a year ago, a train crashed into a bus, killing 51 children traveling to school in the governorate of Assiut, some 200 miles (320 kilometers) south of Cairo. The transport minister and the head of the railways resigned following the accident.

Source: miamiherald.com
BDST: 0920 HRS, NOV 18, 2013
SR/BSK