Four Killed and 88 Injured as Two Trains Collide South of Cairo

At least four people have been killed and 88 injured after two trains collided south of Cairo, officials in Egypt have said.

A train travelling from Giza to Fayoum struck the rear of another train heading south from the capital on Sunday, according to the railway authority. The health ministry said the injured were taken to hospitals around Giza.

Early reports gave different figures for the injured. State media first reported 120 people hurt, while another early count put the number at at least 60. The health ministry's later count stood at 88 injured and four dead.

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President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said he was following the crash closely and ordered an immediate investigation. He said anyone found to have been negligent would be held to account. Emergency workers were using cranes to clear the wreckage, and officials said the cause of the crash was being investigated.

The crash happened in the Al-Ayat area of Giza, a stretch of track with a grim history. In 2002 a fire on a train carrying holiday passengers south of Cairo killed more than 370 people. Dozens more died in crashes in the same area in 2009.

Egypt's rail network is one of the largest in Africa, and the country's 110 million people depend heavily on it. The government has spent billions of dollars over the past decade on new highways and high-speed rail lines, but much of the old network still suffers from the same problems that have caused repeated deadly crashes.