• A strong rainstorm struck much of Egypt on Thursday, resulting in most sectors giving employees the day off

Salma Ahmed

CAIRO: Two passenger trains collided Thursday in the Egyptian capital amid bad weather condition, injuring 13 passengers, officials said.

The accident caused a brief suspension in rail services.

Khaled Megahid, spokesman for the Ministry of Health, described the injuries as "minor bruises and scrapes" and that none was life-threatening.

The trains involved in the collision were numbers 991 and 989, both coming from the Upper Nile delta and on their way to Cairo. The accident happened between the Ramses and Imbaba train stations.

The collision happened when one train coming from Aswan collided into another locomotive coming from the Sohag governorate from behind.

Khaled Megahid, spokesman for the Egyptian Ministry of Health, said that 13 people were injured in the accident, and that the injuries were described as minor bruises and scrapes.

Megahid said that the injured were taken to the Nasser Institute Hospital in Shoubra.

Following the accident the Railways Authority announced the suspension of train traffic throughout the country due to current weather conditions, which was cited as the reason behind the collision.

A strong rainstorm struck much of Egypt on Thursday, resulting in most sectors giving employees the day off. Weather forecasts predict that the storm will continue until Saturday.

The government advised the public to stay indoors throughout the duration of the storm to avoid casualties.

Minister of Health and Population Hala Zayed is overseeing a crisis management team which operates 24 hours a day at the ministry to assess developments and follow up on any emergencies that could arise because of the inclement weather.