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50 Kindergartners Killed in Egypt Bus-Train Crash

Most victims were about 5 years old

By the Associated Press

Posted Nov 17, 2012 7:35 AM CST

(AP) – A speeding train crashed into a bus carrying children to their kindergarten in southern Egypt today, killing about 50, 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 ages 4 to 6 when it was hit near al-Mandara village in Manfaloot district in the province of Assiut. A security official said it appeared that the railroad crossing was not closed as the train sped toward it. Egypt's railway system has a poor safety record, mostly blamed on decades of badly maintained equipment and poor management.

Egyptians searched for signs of their loved ones in the wreckage of a train crash near Assiut  in southern Egypt.
Egyptians searched for signs of their loved ones in the wreckage of a train crash near Assiut in southern Egypt.   (Mamdouh Thabet)
Egyptians gather at the scene of a train crashnear Assiut in southern Egypt Saturday.
Egyptians gather at the scene of a train crashnear Assiut in southern Egypt Saturday.   (Mamdouh Thabet)
Egyptians gather at the scene of a train crashnear Assiut in southern Egypt Saturday.
Egyptians gather at the scene of a train crashnear Assiut in southern Egypt Saturday.   (Mamdouh Thabet)
Egyptians gather at the scene of a train crashnear Assiut in southern Egypt Saturday.
Egyptians gather at the scene of a train crashnear Assiut in southern Egypt Saturday.   (Mamdouh Thabet)
An Egyptian looks through books and school bags that were strewn along the tracks.
An Egyptian looks through books and school bags that were strewn along the tracks.   (AP Photo/Mamdouh Thabet)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 6 comments
Ghille
Nov 17, 2012 2:35 PM CST
What an unbelievable, total tragedy!  My heart hurt at that headline...all those sweet innocents!  I cannot even think how awful this has got to be on their parents! R.I.P. Little ones....I'm so, so sorry your lives were such a brief flash of sweetness.
Minkey
Nov 17, 2012 1:45 PM CST
Unfortuneatly stories like the NY prosecutor have to be offset w/ stories like this one.  My heart goes out to the parents.  They're pain must be unbearable.
hvsteve
Nov 17, 2012 9:24 AM CST
It's not just the Egyptian railroad system...it's the school bus people.  In this country a school bus  driver stops at every crossing, gates down or not, opens the door and looks both way and listens before proceeding.

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