Fight led to fiery train crash in Cairo

A fight between two conductors led to a crash Wednesday at a busy train station in Cairo, Egypt, that killed at least 25 people, authorities said. At least 47 people were injured, many critically, and officials said the death toll could rise. A single, unmanned railcar collided with the buffer stop at the station and ignited an explosion and fire on the platform of the Ramses Station. Investigators determined the locomotive’s conductor left his car without putting on the brakes to fight with another conductor whose railcar was in the way, according to Egyptian Prosecutor General Nabil Sadek. The unmanned car started rolling the opposite direction and gained speed before hitting the barrier and exploding.

Egypt’s railway system has a poor track record, with more than 1,700 train accidents occurring in the country in 2017, according to official records, and a train derailment in July of last year injuring six and leading to the firing of the country’s chief of railways.