The North Cairo Court renewed on Saturday detention of six defendants for 15 days pending investigation in the Cairo Railway Station accident.
The defendants are the driver of the train no. 2305 and his assistant, manoeuvring operator of the train, the driver of the train no. 2302, and the pointsman.
The defendants are facing accusations of murder and negligence which caused the accident killing 25 people and injuring at least 40 others. Local media reported that the defendants have admitted the accusations before the judge.
On Wednesday, a huge fire erupted in a locomotive at the Cairo Railway Station in downtown which is one of Egypt’s most crowded stations.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said that anyone who is responsible for the incident will be held accountable.
According to initial investigations, the two train drivers have engaged in a fight without taking the needed procedures for stopping the locomotive which was moving in a high speed towards the buffer stop.
On Thursday, the Prosecutor-General Nabil Sadek ordered the detention of six people for four days pending investigation of their involvement in the deadly train crash.
Following the accident, the Minister of Transportation Hesham Arafat resigned and Madbouly accepted his resignation. Before resignation, Arafat formed a technical committee to investigate the accident and prepare a technical report on the causes of the train’s fuel tank explosion.
The technical report stressed the full responsibility of the two train drivers for the accident, according to state media. The report also noted that the fuel tank of the crashed train was full of 3,000 litres of gas and has exploded as result of the high speed of the train – 90 km per hour – causing the accident.
