Outrage in Egypt after police officer suspected of causing fatal crash in Alexandria

Outrage has erupted in the Egyptian city of Alexandria on Tuesday after a speeding police officer allegedly crashed into a group of young men driving a motorbike, killing two and seriously injuring another, local media reported.

Protests broke out in the coastal city after the officer involved in the crash was released without charge. Photos and videos posted online show locals enraged over the incident, attacking a police vehicle and throwing stones.

Those protesting, said to have numbered hundreds, included the family of the victims, with dozens arrested.

#Alexandria reportedly became a top trend on twitter, with Egyptian social media users tweeting about the shocking incident.

Some social media users linked the incident the a past statement attributed to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in which the leader suggested immunity for cases of police brutality.

According to local accounts, two police officers had been driving along a waterfront promenade corniche in Alexandria in separate vehicles, before deciding to race each other.

One of the officers accelerated rapidly, hitting the three young men who were driving a motorbike. Two of the group died and one remains injured.

#مصر
الاسكندريه منذ قليل بسب دهس ظابط ل3 اشخاص اتنين منهم ماتوا
مظاهرات في اسكندريه الان pic.twitter.com/fvQJzJcUfK

— Randa Ahmed (@Rimas_Rosa) July 14, 2021

One of the police officers involved was reportedly suspended but not charged, required only to surrender their vehicle for investigation.

It is not clear if either of the officers were driving police vehicles or were on duty during the incident.

Some locals appeared to offer contrasting accounts of the incident on Twitter. They described the CCTV footage of the speeding police cars, which show them breaking a traffic light, as an emergency response to a report of deaths from unspecified causes occurring near the beach.

Traffic accidents kill thousands every year in Egypt, which has poor road safety record.

Crashes are often the result of speeding, bad roads or poor enforcement of traffic laws.

Around 10,000 road accidents took place in 2019, the most recent year for which statistics are available, leaving over 3,480 dead, according to the country's official statistics agency.