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Fatal Carelessness in the Railroad Association Continues
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22/8/2006
EOHR expresses its extreme anxiety concerning the dramatic accident of the Banha Train and Mansura Train, where the death toll reached 58 and about 143 injured. This accident comes as a result of the spreading carelessness in the Association of Public Transport in general, and the Railroads Association in particular. The absence of questioning mechanisms, the deteriorating conditions of the machines and tools and the lack of an effective maintenance, all led to the spread of accidents, especially among public trains used by the low-income citizens.
The crash took place on the 21st August 2006 morning, near Qualiub (20 Km from Cairo), when two trains crashed, one was coming from Mansura to Cairo ( Train No 808), and the other from Banha to Cairo ( Train No. 344), which stopped near Qualiub Station, when the Mansura Train crashed into it leading to the death of the driver.
EOHR has dispatched a fact-finding mission to Qualiub to investigate the scene. The mission met with many of the victims whom were receiving medical treatment at Qualiub General Hospital, Qualiub New Hospital and El Nil Hospital.
EOHR expresses its appreciation to the efforts done by the Prosecutor General, as he investigated the scene himself. EOHR will announce all its findings in the Primary Report which will be issued on Thursday 24th August 2006.
Accordingly, EOHR demands the following:
- an immediate investigation should be performed to reveal the circumstances and the causes of the accident, presenting the responsible to justice and announcing these findings to the public as soon as possible. In addition to reopening investigations in previous railroad disasters of the years 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997 , 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2002. EOHR also demands an immediate compensation to the victims families.
- Forming a high-level committee to determine the causes of the crises and its consequences, and the means to avoid such disaster in the future, and calling upon all the concerned ministries to establish a crisis-management committees to deal with such situations.
- The Government should lay down the bases of personal safety in the transportation sector without overloading the poor with any extra expenses including trains and railroads maintenance.
- EOHR also calls upon the Peoples Assembly to draft a law to establish an independent council for crises-management, consisting of councilors in different specialties concerned with disasters, and allocating a separate budget for this council. This council shall not fall under any supervision of any ministry, and forming a crises-management committees in every ministry under the supervision of the independent council.
- - EOHR fears that the continuation of these accidents is intended by the Government, aiming to overload the poor with the expenses of the transportation's maintenance.
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