Eyewitnesses share stories preceding deadly Cairo crash

Police and emergency services visited the site of a deadly car collision in Cairo on Monday. 19 people lost their lives when a speeding car crashed into 3 others causing huge explosion, the Egyptian Health Ministry said.

Eyewitnesses described what they felt prior to the deadly incident.

“At first we felt pressure, pressure around us and in our ears. We were surprised. After a while we heard an explosion, it was extreme. We thought it was an earthquake, it was a gas cylinder or an electric cable. We saw nothing but shattered windows”, Mohammed said.

For Mohammed Fathy ‘‘there were men without heads and people covered in blood making them unidentifiable. Some of their heads were burnt on the ground. ‘’

According to the Ministry, 30 people were injured. Khaleed Magahed, a Ministry of Health official told a news conference that ‘‘three or four people are in critical condition in the intensive care units’‘.

Egypt regularly faces serious road or rail accidents due to the circulation of obsolete vehicles. Roads and railways are poorly maintained.

In 2018, 3,000 people died in traffic accidents, according to official figures.

AFP