[UPDATED] Train collision in Egypt's Giza injures 120

CAIRO: Two trains collided south of the Egyptian capital on Sunday, derailing several carriages and injuring at least 120 people, state newspaper Al-Akhbar Al-Youm reported.

Egypt's railway authority said a train travelling from Giza to Fayoum crashed into the rear of another service heading south from Cairo to the city of Aswan.

Emergency crews used cranes to remove the wreckage, the authority said.

Egypt's Health Ministry said 52 ambulances were dispatched to the scene and the injured were taken to two nearby hospitals.

Authorities said they had launched an investigation into the cause of the crash, which occurred in Giza's Al-Ayyat area, the site of Egypt's worst-ever rail disaster.

In 2002, more than 370 people were killed when a fire swept through a train carrying holidaymakers south of Cairo.

In 2009, multiple train crashes in the area killed dozens.

Egypt's 110 million people depend heavily on rail transport, but the network — one of the largest in Africa — has suffered repeated deadly accidents.

Over the past decade, Egypt has poured billions of dollars into updating its transport infrastructure, including new highways and high-speed rail lines, but has yet to overhaul much of its ageing rail network.