A collision involving several vehicles on a highway linking the Egyptian capital to the coastal city of Alexandria killed at least 15 people, Egyptian media reported on Wednesday.

Seven others were injured in the accident that happened Tuesday night on the Alexandria-Cairo desert road, according to the privately-owned newspaper al-Masry al-Youm.

The report added that the tragedy had resulted from a collision between a truck and four minibuses.

The state-owned Akhbar al-Youm news gate, citing security investigations, said the collision had involved a truck loaded with pebbles and five other vehicles, including two minibuses.

The exact cause of the accident is not clear yet.

So far, there has been no comment from the Egyptian authorities.

Fatal road crashes are relatively common in Egypt.

They are often blamed for reckless driving and poor road conditions.

In October, a collision between a passenger bus and several cars in Egypt left at least 32 people dead.

In recent years, Egypt has built a network of new routes to improve the overall quality of the roads.

(dpa/NAN)