A trained crashed into a school bus at a crossing about 180 miles south of Cairo on Saturday. Officials said 49 people were killed in the tragedy and 47 of them were children between the ages of 4 and 8 years old. The other two who were killed were a man and a woman. The man was believed to be the bus driver.
The bus was snapped in two by the force of the oncoming train. There was blood seen everywhere and nearby textbooks and knapsacks had been tossed about. The Transportation Minister for the country, Mohamed Rashad resigned following the crash, but Mohamed Mursi, the Egyptian President is still considering his resignation.
Railway safety records in Egypt are poor and many people in the country have criticized the government about the dangerous problem. However, past governments and the current one continue to ignore their complaints and do very little if anything to help make it safer. Because of that, there is a long list of deadly accidents that have taken place in the country.
Television in Egypt said 18 people were also injured in the wreck, but medical personnel put the injured total at 28, with 27 of those injured being young children. Witnesses at the accident scene when it occurred said the crossing gates had been left up in the air. The gates are manually lowered by a worker who was sleeping during the accident and has been detained by law enforcement.
A number of the bodies were hard to identify as they had been mutilated by the speed and force of the train. It is estimated that the train pushed the bus nearly one kilometer before coming to a stop.
