At least 22 people have been killed and 33 injured in southern Egypt when the bus they were travelling in smashed into a parked truck.

The bus carrying around 45 passengers crashed into the stationary truck early on Tuesday near the village of al Barsha, some 300 kilometres south of the capital Cairo in Minya governorate.

"The truck was parked on the side of the road to change a tyre when it was hit from behind by the bus travelling from Sohag governorate to Cairo," a statement from the governorate said.

Ambulances rushed to the scene to transfer the injured to hospitals in Minya. 

Footage from the scene posted by local authorities showed a bus with heavy damage in the front half apparently from the crash with the back of the truck.

Poor transportation safety

Traffic accidents kill thousands every year in Egypt, which has a poor transportation safety record. 

Crashes are mostly caused by speeding, careless driving, bad roads or poor enforcement of traffic laws.

In January, at least 16 people were killed and 18 others injured when a microbus collided with a public transportation bus in the Sinai Peninsula. 

In April last year, a bus overturned while trying to pass a truck on a highway in the southern province of Assiut, leaving at least 21 people dead and three others injured.

Some 7,000 people died in road accidents in the country in 2020, according to official figures.