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A speeding train crashed into a bus carrying children to their kindergarten in southern Egypt on Saturday, killing at least 47, officials said. Distraught families searched for signs of their loved ones along the tracks and angry villagers berated officials in the aftermath of the latest disaster to hit the country's railway system.

The bus was carrying more than 50 children between 4 and 6 years old when it was hit near al-Mandara village in Manfaloot district in the province of Assiut, a security official said, adding that it appears that the railroad crossing was not closed as the train sped toward it.

Accidents traced to negligence that left scores dead occurred regularly under ousted President Hosni Mubarak, becoming a rallying cry for his critics, but this is the worst such tragedy since the country's first freely elected president, Mohammed Morsi, took power this summer.

Books, school bags and children's socks were strewn along the tracks near the mangled bus. Parents of the missing wailed as they looked for signs of their children. An Associated Press reporter at the scene said many of the remains were unrecognizable.


AP
Distraught Egyptians searched for signs of... View Full Caption
A woman who called herself Um Ibrahim, a mother of three, was pulling her hair in distress. "My children! I didn't feed you before you left," she wailed. One witness said the train pushed the bus along the tracks for nearly a kilometer (half mile).

As one man picked up a body part he screamed: "Only God can help!"

Two hospital officials said between seven and 11 wounded were being treated in two different facilities, many with severed limbs.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Egypt's railway system has a poor safety record, mostly blamed on badly maintained equipment and poor management. The railway's worst disaster took place in February 2002 when a train heading to southern Egypt caught fire, killing 363 people. Media reports quoted official statistics saying that the rail and road accidents claimed more than 7,000 lives in 2010.

The state news agency MENA reported that Transport Minister Mohammed el-Meteeni offered his resignation to President Mohammed Morsi. The agency said Morsi ordered an investigation into the accident and said that those responsible would be held accountable, and that Prime Minister Hesham Kandil and the interior minister were headed to the scene of the accident.

At al-Mandara village, along the tracks, angry families and locals gathered around the scene of the traffic, shouting at officials. Some chanted: "Down with Morsi!"

Sheik Mohammed Hassan, a villager, said the government should be paying more attention to its domestic problems instead of focusing its attention to the violence in neighboring Gaza.

"The blood of people in Assiut is more important than Gaza," he said.

http://abcnews.go.com/International...-bus-47-children-killed-17745694#.UKdo6cXMiWE

 

[Friggz]

well this was a shitty way to start my saturday. I cant even imagine.

 

[CountAntonius]

Absolutely terrible. Rest In Peace.

 

[Phantast2k]

I was about to post this. Certainly an even that might turn some people atheists ("how can god kill all those children?" etc.)
[yes I know about theodicy]

 

[HiiiLife]

 

[Nibel]

Breaks my fucking heart

 

[Blablurn]

rest in peace

 

[keyboardcat]

REad this earlier with tears in my eyes, there are roughly that number of kids in my son's kindergarten

 

[Brazil]

Wow, fuck. Rest in peace, kids.

 

[Canis lupus]

RIP, young souls.

 

[gundamkyoukai]

RIP , what awful thing to happen .

 

[SolidsnackooFoxhound]

RIP beautiful children. What a tragedy.

 

[Mal'ice]

God...

 

[ItAintEasyBeinCheesy]

Well, thats messed up. RIP kids.

 

[Malleymal]

Poor kids...... Such sad news

 

[Escape Goat]

Holy crap, thats terrible. Ugh.

As one man picked up a body part he screamed: "Only God can help!"

God could have helped and not killed 47 children in the first place. :-\

 

[DiscoJer]

REad this earlier with tears in my eyes, there are roughly that number of kids in my son's kindergarten

I don't blame you, I don't have kids and I'm doing the same.

Holy crap, thats terrible. Ugh.



God could have helped and not killed 47 children in the first place. :-\

That's what the whole allegory of the Garden of Eden is about, though. By gaining Free Will, humanity can cause tragedy to itself

 

[ajim]

Thats just... Wow... No words.



RIP.

 

[Violater]

This is just horrible.

 

[Rocket Scientist]

=( Man oh man.

 

[ShinNL]

 

[Volimar]

Awful. Accidents involving trains are so preventable and so senseless.

 

[Slavik81]

How the hell do you get hit by a train? They might not be able to stop very quickly, but they do tend to follow rather predictable paths.

Poorly engineered systems and a basic lack of awareness?

 

[The_Hitcher89]

I'm utterly confused as to how such an easily avoidable tragedy like this can happen. Are there no level crossings in Egypt?

 

[wildfire]

*shake's head*

 

[markot]

So sad...

 

[soepje]

Awful, rip kids. They updated the link, at least 49 got killed.

I'm utterly confused as to how such an easily avoidable tragedy like this can happen. Are there no level crossings in Egypt?

To me it seems there was some malfunction with the railroad crossing (from OP).

Now that i think of it, i always cross the tracks without looking for trains, as do most people i think. I just check the signals, light blinks, i stop. But if the signals aren't working for some reason, i'm screwed too .

 

[Enco]

I..



RIP

The people in charge of health and safety (if there are any) and every single person that can be remotely tied to the horrendous negligence needs to be locked up for manslaughter. Absolutely horrendous and disgusting.

 

[Gallbaro]

This is the reason why bus drivers stop at all crossings and do not go over the tracks until the other side is clear.

Entirely the drivers fault.

 

[Spiderjericho]

This is so sad. What a tragedy. My condolences to all of the parents who lost their children.

 

[LQX]

Wow. R.I.P

 

[MushroomSamba]

RIP beautiful children. What a tragedy.

I can't tell if this is in jest or not.

 

[keyboardcat]

Last report has the crossing guard responsible for closing and opening the barriers asleep at the time of accident.

So one man's responsible for this tragedy...

Residents near the crash site say the railway crossing guard was asleep Saturday when the bus drove over the track. It appeared the crossing was not closed as the train sped toward it. Authorities detained a railway worker who had fled the scene.

 

[Al-ibn Kermit]

This is the reason why bus drivers stop at all crossings and do not go over the tracks until the other side is clear.

Entirely the drivers fault.

Is that what happened in this case? It sounds like the railroad crossing lights/gates malfunctioned. The bus may have not have been stuck behind any other cars in traffic like you're saying, it could have just been going at normal speed.

edit: poster above has another theory.

 

[smr00]

I was having a great day until i read this. How awful

 

[soepje]

Last report has the crossing guard responsible for closing and opening the barriers asleep at the time of accident.

So one man's responsible for this tragedy...

Oh man, that's awful. He won't be able to live with himself. Still i think the main blame is on the people above him, such important jobs shouldn't/can't be done by one person alone.

 

[Jhriad]

Last report has the crossing guard responsible for closing and opening the barriers asleep at the time of accident.

So one man's responsible for this tragedy...

ugh. Disgusting if true. Rest in peace little ones. You were taken too soon.

 

[Vilix]

Heart goes out to their families.

 

[Hobbun]

Wish I never clicked Off-Topic.

R.I.P.

 

[Trouble]

Fuck that's horrible.

 

[abstract alien]

Anything happening to children always gets me. I at least hope none of them suffered.