At least 11 people were killed and at least 98 others were injured following a train accident north of the Egyptian capital Cairo on Sunday, according to Egyptian authorities.

Four train wagons ran off the railway at the city of Banha in Qalyubia province, just outside Cairo, the railway authority said in a statement.

The train was travelling to the Nile Delta city of Mansoura from the Egyptian capital, the authority added.

More than 55 ambulances were deployed to treat the injured, the Health ministry said, and investigators were dispatched to investigate the cause of the accident.

Local media reports said the Minister of Health Hala Zayed was headed to the scene of the accident.

Egypt was the first country in Africa to introduce the railway. However, accidents on its railway system are a common occurrence, especially in the last three decades, due in part to poor maintenance and lack of investment.

Last month, two trains crashed in the Tahta district of the southern Sohag province, killing 18 people and injuring 200 others.

The worst accident in the North African country's history occurred in February 2002 in El-Ayyat, south of the capital Cairo, when a fire broke out in a train traveling from Cairo to Luxor killing more than 360 people.

(With input from agencies)