CAIRO (Reuters) - Forty people were killed and 40 injured when a train crashed into several vehicles on a railway crossing in northern Egypt on Wednesday, state news agency MENA said.
The accident happened after a truck slammed into vehiclesincluding a car and a bus waiting at the crossing, pushing themonto the tracks, security sources said. The train ploughed intothe vehicles seconds later.
MENA quoted officials as saying the truck's brakes hadfailed.
The force of the impact flipped two of the train'scarriages over and unhitched three more, a security sourceadded.
MENA said the dead and injured had been transferred to anumber of local hospitals.
Reckless driving, lax traffic rules and poor roadconditions cause many road crashes in Egypt. A series of roadand rail accidents over the past few years triggered a publicoutcry over the government's handling of road and transportsafety.
Two years ago, a train crash killed 58 people and injuredscores more in the Nile Delta town of Qalyoub, north of Cairo.
In 2002, 360 people were killed when fire ripped throughseven carriages of a crowded passenger train.
(Writing by Aziz El-Kaissouni; Editing by Charles Dick)
