CAIRO -- A Cairo court acquitted Sunday all 11 state employees on trial for Egypt's worst-ever train disaster, which left 361 dead in February, saying those really responsible for the tragedy are still free.

"The report submitted by the accident's investigators provides no real evidence condemning the accused", the Head Judge of the Giza District Court, Saad Abdel Wahad, said.

"Those really responsible are free," he added, calling the defendants as much victims of the tragedy as those who died, and implying the 11 charged with responsibility for the accident were simply scapegoats.

"Egyptian justice is tired and has had enough of being presented with minor civil servants in these kinds of trials," he added, making it clear higher officals bear the real blame.

Relatives of the accused greeted the verdict with cries of joy, including "God Is Great" and "Long Live Justice".

Others danced and embraced each other in the courtroom, AFP reported.

On February 20, 361 people were killed by a blaze in the packed third class coaches of a train connecting Cairo to Asswan which broke out 70 kilometers (44 miles) south of the capital.

The fire, blamed on a portable stove, resulted in the deadliest train tragedy in Egypt's history. Transport Minister Ibrahim al-Demeiry and the Head of the Railroad Authority, Ahmed al-Sherif, both resigned. Calling on the government to appoint competent people to top posts, Wahad said, "Although five months have elapsed since the beginning of the trial, and the memory of the victims calls us to pronounce convictions, the court did not hesitate a moment in acquitting the accused, who are just as much victims as the casualties of the accident." He blamed the disaster on "flagrant negligence on the part of the railway authority and the transport police."

And he cast doubt on the theory of a portable stove, put forward by Prime Minister Atef Ebeid when he visited the scene shortly after the fire, being the cause.

Ebeid swiftly ruled out any fault in the security systems or failings of the railway staff.

On August 28, 20 senior railway officials, including former chief sherif, were sent for trial before an administrative court, accused of negligence.

But they risk only minor punishments, while the 11 acquitted Sunday faced serious penalties.

In July prosecutor Essam al-Deweiny demanded heavy penalties for the defendants, who included an engineer and a train maintenance official accused of falsifying a report on the condition of the train and allowing it to be used without fire extinguishers.

The nine others were accused of not limiting the number of passengers, which was estimated at 4,000, twice the train's normal capacity.

The prosecutor also criticized the rail authority for having fixed metal bars on the windows of the train, which prevented passengers from escaping.

The disaster, affecting the underprivileged who make up most of Egypt's population, sent shockwaves through the country.