Manfalout Partial Misdemeanours Court, headed by Judge Deya Khairy, postponed the trial examining a train accident that left 51 children dead and injured over a dozen after its first hearing on Saturday in order to announce the coming civil proceedings.

The court rescheduled the trial for 16 March and decided to keep two of the defendants, whom worked at the train crossing where the train collided with a school bus, in custody.

The tragic accident occurred on 17 November in the Manfalout area of the Assiut governorate when dozens of children were killed when their school bus collided with a northbound train while it was on its way to take the students to school.

Minister of Transportation Mohamed Rashad Al-Mateeny and the head of the Railway Authority Mostafa Qenawi both resigned in the aftermath of the fatal collision.

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