File photo: Egyptian train (Al-Ahram)
At least two people died early on Saturday when a train crashed with a microbus attempting to cross the railway in Giza’s Al-Ayyat, Ahram Arabic website reported.
Sources in Al-Ayyat told Ahram Arabic the crossing operator was asleep during the accident and escaped once the incident took place.
It is still unclear if there are any injured people from the accident.
Egypt's railway system is operated manually, with employees responsible for managing the opening of the crossings by communicating with the drivers -- a practice that is considered unsafe and unreliable.
In January 2016, seven people were killed in a similar incident when a train coming from Upper Egypt ran over a car that was crossing the railway in Giza's Al-Ayyat during foggy weather.
Al-Ayyat witnessed two train crashes in 2009 that killed at least 50 people.
On 20 February 2002, a train caught fire in Al-Ayyat, killing at least 380 people, the worst railway disaster in Egypt's history.
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