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| Dahshour accident |
CAIRO: The Strong Egypt Party said the Dahshour train accident is part of a long series of governmental negligence, in a Monday statement.
The accident took place on Monday morning and claimed the lives of at least 27, leaving tens injured.
The party said authorities remain focused on suppressing political opponents instead of offering services to the people.
Head of the Independent Syndicate of Railway Workers Mohamed Abdel Satar blamed massive, widespread corruption in the Railway Authority for the accident, in a phone-in on “al-Hadath al-Masry” program on al-Arabiya satellite channel on Monday.
Abdel Satar blamed officials of the authority for not informing Minister of Transport Ibrahim el-Demeiryof the increasing corruption.
The Strong Egypt Party added that this is not the first accident in the era of Demeiry. During his first term in office, which spanned 1999-2002, a horrific train accident in Upper Egypt left hundreds burned to death.
The party expressed astonishment that the interim government appointed the same minister after June 30. They criticized the government for not utilizing the months-long train suspension to overhaul the dated rail crossings, instead of attempting to pass laws that limit people’s freedoms and propagate corruption.
Meanwhile, the Railway Authority denied liability for the accident, said vice-president of the authority Khaled Farouk in a Monday interview on al-Youm channel. Farouk said the train driver used the siren as he approached the crossing.
He added that the authority is cooperating with the Ministry of Military Production to develop the railway systems, and that this has been delayed due to the economic crisis.
Khaled blamed the irresponsible behavior of citizens for train accidents in the country and said the minister is already working on automating and updating 250 crossings nationwide.
