At least 20 people have been killed as a train crashed into a mini-bus and other vehicles south of Egypt's capital Cairo, officials say.

The train, travelling from the city of Bani Swaif, hit the vehicles at a crossing about 40km (25 miles) from Cairo, they say.

A number of people were reported injured in the incident early on Monday. An investigation is under way.

Egypt's roads and railways have a notoriously poor safety record.

Monday's collision happened near the village of Dahshur.

It was not immediately clear whether all the victims were in the bus and other vehicles hit by the train.

"We are still investigating the incident and once we are done we will issue a statement," an interior ministry source told Reuters news agency.

Local security officials were quoted by Nile News TV as saying the crossing gates of the tracks had been closed and the train's driver was surprised to see vehicles still crossing.

In January, a train carrying army recruits derailed near Cairo, killing 19 people and injuring more than 100.

Last November, 50 children died when a train hit their school bus near Manfalut, some 350km south of Cairo, after a signal operator fell asleep.

Egypt's worst train disaster was in 2002, when a train caught fire in Cairo, killing 373 people.