The train was travelling from southern Egypt towards Cairo when it derailed in the Giza neighbourhood of Badrashin, two security officials in the area said.

“Three wagons of train number 990 came off the tracks without any loss of life... The injured received treatment in hospital and were able to leave,” said Kamal el-Daly, head of Giza police investigations department.

Egyptians complain that successive governments have failed to enforce basic safety standards on the country's railways, leading to a string of deadly accidents.