ASSIUT, Egypt — A speeding train crashed into a bus carrying Egyptian children to their kindergarten in central Egypt on Saturday, killing at least 51 and prompting a wave of anger against the government in Cairo.
More than 50 children between 4 and 6 years old were among about 65 people on board when the bus was hit, a security official said. The official said it appeared the railroad crossing was not closed as the train sped toward it.
The crash is the worst such catastrophe to hit the country since its first freely elected president, Mohammed Morsi, took office last summer, and will probably give ammunition to critics who say he has done little to improve life for ordinary Egyptians.
Books, school bags, and children’s socks were strewn along the tracks near the blood-stained, mangled bus near al-Mandara village in the central Assiut Province. Parents of the missing wept as they looked for signs of their children. Three adults also were among the dead.
A woman who called herself Um Ibrahim, a mother whose three children were on the bus, pulled her hair in grief. ‘‘My children! I didn’t feed you before you left,’’ she cried. A witness said the train pushed the bus along the tracks for nearly half a mile.
This is a tragedy.
Two hospital officials said more than a dozen injured were being treated in two facilities, many with severed limbs. All officials spoke anonymously as they were not authorized to brief reporters.
The carnage prompted grieving families to set up road blocks in the area, preventing Morsi’s prime minister from reaching the scene. Some burned logs and fired automatic rifles in the air in denunciation of Morsi.
Prime Minister Hesham Kandil was greeted by a jeering crowd as he arrived with a detachment of riot police at Assiut’s main hospital, where the injured were being treated.
Residents of Assiut are traditionally heavily armed and many hold tribal alliances. They said a lack of ambulances and equipment in the area had hindered hospitals’ response.
In a televised address from his office in Cairo earlier in the day, Morsi said he had tasked the state prosecutor with investigating the crash, which led to the resignation of the transport minister. ‘‘Those responsible for this accident will be held accountable,’’ he said.
The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s most powerful political force and Morsi’s base of support, blamed the crash on a culture of negligence fostered by deposed leader Hosni Mubarak....
Egypt’s railway system has a poor safety record, mostly blamed on decades of badly maintained equipment and poor management during the Mubarak era.
Accidents due to negligence regularly killed scores over the three-decade rule of Mubarak, who was accused of valuing loyalty over competence in many appointments of senior officials.
Widespread corruption has also been blamed for the underfunding of government services, particularly in poor provinces outside Cairo.
Opposition activists have accused Morsi of continuing the mistakes of his predecessor by not overhauling the system, and focusing too much on foreign policy while moving slowly to tackle a myriad of domestic problems.
He was only in office a few months when this happened. What you expect him to do, wave a wand?
Most recently the president positioned Egypt as the Palestinians’ new Arab champion, but with more children killed in Saturday’s accident than by Israeli bombs in the Gaza Strip, he is under pressure to refocus efforts at home....
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Related:
More than 50 children between 4 and 6 years old were among about 65 people on board when the bus was hit, a security official said. The official said it appeared the railroad crossing was not closed as the train sped toward it.
The crash is the worst such catastrophe to hit the country since its first freely elected president, Mohammed Morsi, took office last summer, and will probably give ammunition to critics who say he has done little to improve life for ordinary Egyptians.
Books, school bags, and children’s socks were strewn along the tracks near the blood-stained, mangled bus near al-Mandara village in the central Assiut Province. Parents of the missing wept as they looked for signs of their children. Three adults also were among the dead.
A woman who called herself Um Ibrahim, a mother whose three children were on the bus, pulled her hair in grief. ‘‘My children! I didn’t feed you before you left,’’ she cried. A witness said the train pushed the bus along the tracks for nearly half a mile.
This is a tragedy.
Two hospital officials said more than a dozen injured were being treated in two facilities, many with severed limbs. All officials spoke anonymously as they were not authorized to brief reporters.
The carnage prompted grieving families to set up road blocks in the area, preventing Morsi’s prime minister from reaching the scene. Some burned logs and fired automatic rifles in the air in denunciation of Morsi.
Prime Minister Hesham Kandil was greeted by a jeering crowd as he arrived with a detachment of riot police at Assiut’s main hospital, where the injured were being treated.
Residents of Assiut are traditionally heavily armed and many hold tribal alliances. They said a lack of ambulances and equipment in the area had hindered hospitals’ response.
In a televised address from his office in Cairo earlier in the day, Morsi said he had tasked the state prosecutor with investigating the crash, which led to the resignation of the transport minister. ‘‘Those responsible for this accident will be held accountable,’’ he said.
The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s most powerful political force and Morsi’s base of support, blamed the crash on a culture of negligence fostered by deposed leader Hosni Mubarak....
Egypt’s railway system has a poor safety record, mostly blamed on decades of badly maintained equipment and poor management during the Mubarak era.
Accidents due to negligence regularly killed scores over the three-decade rule of Mubarak, who was accused of valuing loyalty over competence in many appointments of senior officials.
Widespread corruption has also been blamed for the underfunding of government services, particularly in poor provinces outside Cairo.
Opposition activists have accused Morsi of continuing the mistakes of his predecessor by not overhauling the system, and focusing too much on foreign policy while moving slowly to tackle a myriad of domestic problems.
He was only in office a few months when this happened. What you expect him to do, wave a wand?
Most recently the president positioned Egypt as the Palestinians’ new Arab champion, but with more children killed in Saturday’s accident than by Israeli bombs in the Gaza Strip, he is under pressure to refocus efforts at home....
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Related:
ASSUIT— An Egyptian court sentenced two railway workers to 10 years in prison for a train crash that killed 52 people when a bus carrying children was hit last November. They were found guilty of manslaughter and endangerment of public transit. Each man was also fined $14,000 (AP)."
And two months later:
"Train wreck near Cairo leaves 19 dead, 100 hurt" by Maggie Michael | Associated Press, January 16, 2013
"Train wreck near Cairo leaves 19 dead, 100 hurt" by Maggie Michael | Associated Press, January 16, 2013
BADRASHEEN, Egypt — Egypt’s president pledged Tuesday to hold officials accountable for a deadly train wreck that fueled anger against Mohammed Morsi’s administration for failing to carry out reform and overhaul the nation’s deteriorating public services.
Nineteen Egyptian conscripts were killed and more than 100 others were injured early Tuesday 12 miles south of Cairo.
Part of the rear car rested by the side of the road. Its seats were stained with blood. Shoes and remains of the recruits’ clothes and food were scattered for several miles along the tracks.
‘‘My heart is bleeding for Egypt’s martyrs and the injured, and God willing, this accident will be the last to sadden Egypt and Egyptians,’’ Morsi said while visiting the injured at a military hospital in suburban Cairo, the same place where Egypt’s ousted president, Hosni Mubarak, is held.
The train was carrying some 1,300 new recruits of the Central Security Forces, an antiriot force made up of young draftees performing their required military service, usually drawn from the poorest and least educated. The conscripts are used as cannon fodder in crackdowns on protesters — and their lowly status is so well known that at times even protesters show sympathy for them.
Support the troops!
They were coming to Cairo from impoverished Assiut Province in the south. Witnesses said the last carriage of the train jumped the tracks, smashed into another train, and then — still connected to its own train — was dragged for several miles.
The cause of the crash is still being investigated. A military helicopter hovered over the scene as Prime Minister Hesham Kandil inspected the damage.
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"Protesters block rail lines to Cairo" Associated Press, February 25, 2013
ASSIUT, Egypt — Thousands of brick workers blocked railroad tracks from a southern city to Cairo for a second day Sunday to protest rising industrial oil prices, causing the cancellation of some services, security officials said.
The government lifted industrial fuel oil subsidies last week as part of a reform program, prompting labor protests by quarry and brick factory workers.
Egypt has been gripped by unrest in recent days, partially because of public discontent with new government measures designed to deal with a crippling budget deficit. But the unrest has also been political, as criticism of President Mohammed Morsi’s government increases.
Opponents accuse Morsi and his government of failing to tackle Egypt’s myriad problems and of monopolizing power. The government says political bickering has hindered its ability to manage a serious economic crunch.
Khaled el-Hawari, a marketing executive in one of the brick factories, said industrial fuel oil prices increased by 50 percent, threatening the business and the lives of hundreds of workers who could be laid off. A security official said negotiations with the brick workers have continued, allowing some trains coming from the capital to get through to the south, but causing a large backlog of trains in Cairo. Nearly 20 train trips to Cairo were canceled.
The official said the workers removed tracks for trains heading one direction near Beni Suef, 70 miles south from Cairo, and put wood planks on the other.
A worker at the Beni Suef station said thousands of disgruntled passengers had to rely on road transportation. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
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Related:
"Egypt’s railway services came to a halt because of a strike by train drivers and conductors. The strike snarled inter-city transit."
"Protesters block rail lines to Cairo" Associated Press, February 25, 2013
ASSIUT, Egypt — Thousands of brick workers blocked railroad tracks from a southern city to Cairo for a second day Sunday to protest rising industrial oil prices, causing the cancellation of some services, security officials said.
The government lifted industrial fuel oil subsidies last week as part of a reform program, prompting labor protests by quarry and brick factory workers.
Egypt has been gripped by unrest in recent days, partially because of public discontent with new government measures designed to deal with a crippling budget deficit. But the unrest has also been political, as criticism of President Mohammed Morsi’s government increases.
Opponents accuse Morsi and his government of failing to tackle Egypt’s myriad problems and of monopolizing power. The government says political bickering has hindered its ability to manage a serious economic crunch.
Khaled el-Hawari, a marketing executive in one of the brick factories, said industrial fuel oil prices increased by 50 percent, threatening the business and the lives of hundreds of workers who could be laid off. A security official said negotiations with the brick workers have continued, allowing some trains coming from the capital to get through to the south, but causing a large backlog of trains in Cairo. Nearly 20 train trips to Cairo were canceled.
The official said the workers removed tracks for trains heading one direction near Beni Suef, 70 miles south from Cairo, and put wood planks on the other.
A worker at the Beni Suef station said thousands of disgruntled passengers had to rely on road transportation. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
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Related:
"Egypt’s railway services came to a halt because of a strike by train drivers and conductors. The strike snarled inter-city transit."
"Building collapse kills 25 in Egypt" by Hamza Hendawi | Associated Press, January 17, 2013
CAIRO — An eight-story apartment building collapsed Wednesday in the port city of Alexandria, killing at least 25 people in the second deadly accident to hit the country in two days, according to police and health officials....
The collapse came a day after 19 police conscripts were killed when the last car of the train they were riding in jumped the tracks and smashed into another train just outside Cairo.
The wreck sparked protests in several cities where demonstrators complained that the new government is failing to carry out reforms and overhaul the nation’s deteriorating public services.
I guess the coup has been coming on for some time.
I guess the coup has been coming on for some time.
President Mohammed Morsi’s government has blamed the train accident on nearly 30 years of misrule under Hosni Mubarak.
It was not immediately clear what caused the building to collapse, but violations of building specifications have been blamed for similar accidents in the past....
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More hot air:
"The tragedy raised worries of another blow to the nation’s vital tourism industry. It also prompted accusations that authorities have let safety standards decline."
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"The tragedy raised worries of another blow to the nation’s vital tourism industry. It also prompted accusations that authorities have let safety standards decline."
Running out of gas, folks:
"Fuel shortage puts a strain on Egypt; Lack of cash cuts flow of imports" by David D. Kirkpatrick | New York Times, March 31, 2013
QALYUBEYA, Egypt — A fuel shortage has helped send food prices soaring. Electricity is blacking out even before the summer. And gas-line gunfights have killed at least five people and wounded dozens over the past two weeks.
The root of the crisis, economists say, is that Egypt is running out of the hard currency it needs for fuel imports.
The shortage is raising questions about Egypt’s ability to keep importing wheat that is essential to subsidized bread supplies, stirring fears of an economic catastrophe at a time when the government is already struggling to quell violent protests by its political rivals.
Farmers already lack fuel for the pumps that irrigate their fields, and they say they fear they will not have enough for the tractors to reap their wheat next month before it rots in the fields.
US officials are warning of disaster unless Egypt soon carries out a package of tax increases and subsidy cuts tied to a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund. That would persuade other lenders that Egypt was creditworthy enough to obtain billions more in additional loans needed to meet its yawning deficit.
But fearful of a public reaction at a time when the streets are already near boiling, the government of President Mohammed Morsi has so far resisted an IMF deal, insisting that Egypt can wait.
Those who say Egypt cannot afford enough fuel are “trying to make problems for Morsi and his party,” said Naser el-Farash, the spokesman for the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade and a fellow member of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm.
Farash placed blame for the shortage of fuel on corruption left over from the government of Hosni Mubarak, combined with hoarding inspired by fear-mongering in the private news media. “They are against the revolution,” he said.
Independent analysts say that the growing shortage of fuel and the fear about wheat imports now pose the gravest threats to Egypt’s fragile stability. “It has the potential to make things very, very bad,” said Yasser el-Shimy, an analyst for the International Crisis Group.
Egypt has held two years of unsuccessful talks with the IMF, and the current government is still balking at the politically painful package of overhauls — even as rising prices and unemployment make those measures more difficult with each passing day.
And NOW we KNOW WHY Morsi was DUMPED!
“They are operating on the notion that Egypt is too big to be allowed to fail, that the US and the West will step in,” Shimy said. “They think Egypt has a right to get the loan, and I think they will probably keep pushing all the way.”
Officials of the Morsi government have indicated that they prefer to wait until the election of a new Parliament, which might demonstrate broader public agreement on the need for changes. But a court decision striking down the election law has postponed the vote until at least the fall, and many economists say Egypt cannot endure the delay.
“The situation is pretty urgent, because the deterioration accelerates,” a Western diplomat said, speaking on the condition of anonymity under diplomatic protocols. Shortages, the diplomat said, are already leading to layoffs.
Energy subsidies make up as much as 30 percent of Egypt’s government spending, said Ragui Assaad, of the Economic Research Forum here.
The country imports much of its fuel, and for the first time last year it was forced to import some of the natural gas used to generate electricity — the reason for the recent blackouts. Egypt also imports about 75 percent of its wheat, mixing the superior foreign wheat with lower-quality domestic supplies to improve its subsidized bread.
But the two years of mayhem in the streets since the ouster of Mubarak have decimated tourism and foreign investment, crippling the economy. The government’s reserve of hard currency has fallen to about $13 billion from $36 billion two years ago.
About half of its currency reserves are in illiquid forms such as gold, economists say, while billions more are owed to the foreign companies that operate Egypt’s oil and gas fields.
And yet Egypt had to import gas?
As a result of the outflows of hard currency, the value of the Egyptian pound has also been falling.
