Grim task for Egypt fire families

CAIRO, Egypt -- Relatives of the Egyptian train blaze victims have begun arriving in the capital to identify their loved ones.

At the scene of the tragedy, investigators have launched an investigation into the cause of the inferno which killed 370 people, some of whom jumped from the speeding train while others were trapped in the carriages.

The grim tasks -- in Cairo and Al Ayatt, about 70km or 40 miles south of the capital -- are being carried out on the eve of Islam's biggest feast, the Eid al-Adha.

Relatives will be allowed into a central Cairo morgue one or two at a time to identify the blackened remains.

But witnesses to Wednesday's disaster have warned many bodies were so badly charred they will be almost impossible to identify.

VIDEO Inferno on the tracks. Journalist Sandy Petrykowski reports (February 20) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   MORE STORIES • Survivors tell of ordeal  • Recent rail disasters    EXTRA INFORMATION • Map: Egypt train route  • Gallery: Egyptian train fire

Although the fire's cause was unclear, suspicion has so far focused on gas cylinders and small stoves which passengers often take on board to cook meals, despite regulations forbidding it.

Security sources told Reuters that investigations and residual clean-up operations would resume on Thursday, even though work in the rest of Egypt would halt for the Eid al-Adha.

The sources said authorities would probe whether sufficient safety precautions were in place.

The cars, fitted with wooden seats and metal frames, were separated, but witnesses saw passengers, some on fire, running from car to car.

Carriages were so jammed that many passengers were sitting on the floor. The director of the state-owned Egyptian Railway Authority, Ahmed al-Sherif, said the train was overcrowded, putting the number aboard at about 1,200.

Bars on some windows hampered escape and witnesses said electricity in the train went out in the moments after the fire began.

"They should have checked the train before starting the journey," Aida Mehana, a 26-year-old housewife who survived the fire with minor injuries, told The Associated Press.

"These are people's souls, or do they only care about theirs? The train is like a stable for animals, it is trash."

Maher Abdel Wahid, who led a team of 70 government investigators and coroners to the scene, said that if "there was any kind of negligence, and that's what we are looking into, the punishment will be severe."

President Hosni Mubarak, who was in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheik, was quoted by the Middle East News Agency as expressing his "deepest regret and profound sorrow" to the families of the victims.

Al-Sherif said the train left Cairo on its 480-kilometre (300-mile) journey to Luxor about 11.30 p.m. (2130 GMT) on Tuesday and the fire broke out about 90 minutes later.

The train continued for four kilometres (2.5 miles) before finally stopping at Reqa al-Gharbiya, a village 95 kilometres (60 miles) south of Cairo.

Al-Sherif said it was not clear why the emergency brakes were not applied immediately.

Train driver Mansour Youssef el-Qams said he heard no explosions before or during the fire, Egypt's Middle East News Agency reported.

El-Qams, 46, said on seeing flames he stopped the train and ordered his crew to separate the burning cars from the rest of the train. Crew members tried to douse the flames with four fire extinguishers, but strong wind hampered them, Reuters reported.

After an hour, the train continued on its journey after an hour, leaving the burned cars behind, the driver said. It was not immediately clear why he resumed the journey.

The government announced compensation of 3,000 Egyptian pounds (about $665) for families of the dead and 1,000 pounds for the injured, but that did not amount to an admission of responsibility.