Passenger trains collide in central Egypt; more than 30 dead

March 26 (UPI) -- More than 30 people were killed in Egypt on Friday when two commuter trains collided in the central city of Tahta, authorities said.

Officials said one train was traveling from Luxor to Alexandria when it collided with a train running on the same track. Tahta is about 240 miles south of Cairo.

At least 32 people were killed in the crash and close to 100 were injured, authorities said.

Egypt's rail authority said someone activated the brakes on the first train, which caused the second to run into its rear section. Two cars derailed.

"The pain that breaks our hearts will only increase our resolve to end such disasters," Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi tweeted.

"[We will] penalize whoever was responsible for this painful accident by negligence, corruption without exception or delay."

Authorities said they're working to get rail traffic, a vital mode of transportation in Egypt, restarted as soon as possible.

Friday's crash is the latest on Egyptian rails in recent years. Nearly two dozen people died in a crash in Cairo in 2019 and 37 were killed in 2017 when a pair of trains collided in Alexandria.