A train ploughed into a passenger minibus in central Egypt on Monday, killing seven people and injuring eight others, the official news agency MENA reported.

The accident occurred in Osim, a small village some 10 km south of Cairo, when the train was heading from the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria to al-Tibeen, also south of Cairo.

According to an official with the Egyptian Railways Authority, the accident took place when the passenger bus driver neglected the red light signal and tried to cross the track before the train's arrival.

(Xinhua News Agency October 16, 2006)