Egypt's railway chief resigns after fatal crash

Egypt's railway chief resigns after fatal crash
The head of Egypt's railway authority has resigned following a deadly crash on the Cairo-Alexandria mainline which killed at least 41 people and injured dozens more.
1 min read
14 August, 2017
Two trains collided on the Cairo-Alexandria mainline killing 41 people [Getty]

The head of Egypt's railway authority resigned Sunday after at least 41 people were killed in a train crash, the prime minister's office said. 

A statement said that Transportation Minister Hisham Arafat had accepted the resignation of Medhat Shousha.

Arafat "affirmed the investigations are ongoing to reveal the causes of the trains' collision," according to the statement.

Egypt's latest train disaster saw two trains collide on the Cairo-Alexandria mainline on Friday, leading to the deaths of 41 people and injuring scores more.

It was the deadliest train accident in the North African country since a train ploughed into a bus carrying schoolchildren in November 2012, killing 47 people. 

Also on Sunday, prosecutors ordered the detention of four people, including the drivers of the two trains, according to a statement.

Prosecutors also called in 10 other officials for questioning over the crash. 

State news agency MENA said blood and urine samples had been taken from one driver to check for drug use.