2 trains collide in Egypt, killing at least 36

Two trains have collided in Alexandria, Egypt, killing at least 36 people, according to the country's health ministry.

The collision took place in the western suburb of Khorshid, according to the area's head of ambulance services, Dr. Mohamed Abu Homs.

Officials said earlier another 109 people had been injured.

There was no immediate information on what had caused the collision.

One of the trains was travelling from Cairo, and struck the back of another coming from Port Said — a city on the northern tip of the Suez Canal — according to a statement by the Egyptian Railways Authority.

Initial reports had said the trains crashed head on.

The statement did not say what caused the crash, only that the authority's experts would be investigating.

Egypt's railway system has a poor safety record, mostly blamed on decades of badly maintained equipment and poor management.

State TV broadcast images of mangled train coaches on the tracks as crowds gathered around trying to help the victims.