Adel Saeed, spokesman for Egypt's prosecutor-general, stated on Wednesday that investigations into Saturday's tragic road/rail disaster – in which more than 50 children were killed in Upper Egypt – "could potentially happen again at any time."

Saeed said that representatives from the prosecutor-general's office had urged railway authority officials "to intervene immediately to massively reduce train speeds at railway crossings and coordinate train schedules according to reduced speeds."

He added that the prosecutor-general's office was continuing its investigations in the village of Manfalout in the Upper Egyptian Assuit governorate, where the accident occurred. He went on to stress that railway authorities were "determined" to find those responsible for the tragedy.

On Saturday, a passenger train ploughed into school bus carrying 60 kindergarten children as it drove over a railway crossing in Assiut.

Until now, reports vary as to exactly how the collision occurred. The railway authority earlier claimed that the bus driver had driven over the crossing even though warning lights and sirens were sounding.