Al Ayyat train disaster
Encyclopedia
The Al Ayyat train disaster happened at 02:00 on the morning of 20 February 2002 in a passenger train of eleven carriages, traveling from Cairo
to Luxor
. In its fifth carriage a cooking gas cylinder exploded and created a fire which spread as the train ran. Seven of its carriages, all third class, were burnt almost to cinders. The number of dead given by officials at the time was 383, all Egyptians. However, considering that 7 carriages were burnt to the ground and each carriage was packed with at least double the maximum carrying capacity of 150, this number is considered by many people to be a great underestimation. The dubious nature of the given number of deaths lies with the absence of a full passenger list; accounting for those missing was almost impossible at the time. As well as this, the carriages were burnt so badly and the fire so intense that many corpses had simply become ash.
As there was no means of communication between the driver and the rear carriages, the driver did not know of the fire until about 2 hours after the fire had begun and so many people who attempted to flee from the overcrowded carriages were killed when they jumped. Some important Egyptians have commentated that the official number of 383 dead is grossly inaccurate and was an attempt to lessen the damage done to the reputation of the government. Many people consider a number of about 1000 dead to be more accurate.
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
to Luxor
Luxor
Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt and the capital of Luxor Governorate. The population numbers 487,896 , with an area of approximately . As the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open air museum", as the ruins of the temple...
. In its fifth carriage a cooking gas cylinder exploded and created a fire which spread as the train ran. Seven of its carriages, all third class, were burnt almost to cinders. The number of dead given by officials at the time was 383, all Egyptians. However, considering that 7 carriages were burnt to the ground and each carriage was packed with at least double the maximum carrying capacity of 150, this number is considered by many people to be a great underestimation. The dubious nature of the given number of deaths lies with the absence of a full passenger list; accounting for those missing was almost impossible at the time. As well as this, the carriages were burnt so badly and the fire so intense that many corpses had simply become ash.
As there was no means of communication between the driver and the rear carriages, the driver did not know of the fire until about 2 hours after the fire had begun and so many people who attempted to flee from the overcrowded carriages were killed when they jumped. Some important Egyptians have commentated that the official number of 383 dead is grossly inaccurate and was an attempt to lessen the damage done to the reputation of the government. Many people consider a number of about 1000 dead to be more accurate.