Freight train derails in Egypt, killing one

The train carrying grain was travelling in the northern Beheira province

An Egyptian soldier stands guard at an overturned passenger carriage after an accident in the city of Toukh, in Egypt's central Nile Delta province of Qalyubiya, in April 2021. AFP

A freight train travelling north of Cairo ran off the rails on Wednesday, smashing into a house and killing a woman, police and the Railways Authority said.

They said the train, loaded with grain, was travelling in the northern Beheira province when it was derailed, the reason for which was not immediately clear.

Train accidents are not uncommon in Egypt, claiming hundreds of lives every year, mostly in accidents that go unreported.

Last year, a series of train accidents killed scores and injured hundreds, prompting the government to accelerate plans to upgrade the service, including buying new train and engine cars and overhauling the signal system.