The death toll is expected to rise
At least 20 people have been killed and 40 more have been injured in a fire at the main train station in Egypt’s capital city, Cairo, according to Egyptian medical officials.
Mohammed Said, the head of the Cairo Railroad hospital, is expecting the death toll to rise further.
Footage circulating on social media shows black smoke emerging from the main building of the train station.
The fire is understood to have been caused by a fuel tank on a speeding train exploding as it was heading into the Ramses station in downtown Cairo.
A witness said he heard a blast before the train hit a steel barrier.
“I was standing on the platform and I saw the train speed into the barrier,” eyewitness Mina Ghaly told Reuters.
“Everyone started running but a lot of people died after the locomotive exploded.
“I saw at least nine corpses lying on the ground, charred.”
EGYPT: 24 dead, dozens injured in an explosion at a station in Cairo, Egypt pic.twitter.com/WMctq1vlJa
— خالد (@khalid_pk) February 27, 2019
#UPDATE 20 killed, 40 wounded in fire at #Egypt's Ramses train station; witness says there was a blast when train rammed into barrier in central #Cairo
More: https://t.co/enOObafDfF pic.twitter.com/PBMTLa6GVN
— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) February 27, 2019
