Cairo: At least 23 people were killed and more than a dozen injured in a major road accident in northern Egypt on Sunday evening, police sources said.

The accident occurred when a police transport vehicle collided with a truck on the highway linking the capital city of Cairo with the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria, the sources said on condition of anonymity.

Earlier reports said at least 15, most of whom were policemen, were killed while 20 others were wounded in the accident.

The sources said eight wounded seriously in the accident succumbed to their injuries in a nearby hospital where they were admitted.

The cause of the accident was not immediately clear.

Road accidents are common in Egypt and according to official statistics some 6,000 people die every year in traffic accidents in the populous Arab country.

Source : IANS