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CAIRO: A hero railway worker told Arab News on Thursday how he acted instinctively to save lives when a train crashed into platform buffers and its fuel tank exploded in a fireball.

At least 10 people are thought to owe their lives to Walid Marhi Hassan Al-Faqi’s quick action after Wednesday’s disaster at Ramses station in Cairo, when he poured water over burning victims and covered them in blankets.

“I don’t think about how many people I saved,” he said. “The important thing was to stop those people from being burned to death.

“The victims were screaming and shouting. Their screams are still ringing in my ears. I consider them to be like brothers. I have not yet awakened from the shock.”

Al-Faqi was at his desk in a sleeper-train company office in the station when the disaster happened. “Suddenly I heard the sound of a loud explosion,” he said.

“People were running, consumed by fire. I immediately grabbed a bowl of water and started to extinguish the flames.

“But then I found out water could spread the fire, so instead I grabbed a blanket. There was a woman and her daughter, the fire ate through their clothes. I brought two blankets and covered them, and moved them to a pavement away from the fire.

“I think any Egyptian in my place would have done this. Everyone has look out for each other, and everyone must have humanitarian motives to save others.”

The death toll from the disaster rose to 22 on Thursday when a paramedic died from his injuries.