Egypt train crash kills three and injures dozens

At least three people – including two children – have been killed after two passenger trains collided in Egypt.

A further 49 people were injured, the country’s health ministry said.

Five of the wounded are in an unstable condition and “rescue operations are ongoing”, the ministry added.

It happened in the city of Zagazig, the capital of Sharqia province, northeast of Cairo.

Video from the crash site shows a crumpled carriage surrounded by crowds.

Men tried to lift the injured through windows.

One of the trains was heading from Zagazig to Ismailia, while the other was on its way from Mansoura to Zagazig, the railway authority said.

Train derailments and crashes are not uncommon in Egypt, which has an ageing railway system.

Last month, a train crashed into a truck crossing the tracks in the Mediterranean province of Alexandria, killing two people.

In 2018, President Abdel Fattah el Sisi said £6.2bn was needed to overhaul the north African country’s rail network.