Toll from Egypt train crash rises to 22: health minister

On Wednesday a hurtling locomotive crashed, derailed and caught fire at the Ramses train station.

The health ministry soon after reported that at least 20 people were killed and 40 injured.

Hours after the latest disaster to strike Egypt's rundown railways, the transportation minister resigned.

Health Minister Hala Zayed told state television Thursday that the death toll had risen to 22 and the number of wounded now stood at 41, six of them in critical condition, suffering "90 to 100 percent burns" which could be fatal.

Authorities have arrested the train driver after the engine appeared to have slammed into the buffers at the end of the track at high speed, sparking a major blaze that blackened the walls of Ramses station.

The prosecution said the driver had left his cabin without turning the engine off, causing the train to career onwards at full speed before smashing to a violent stop.

Photos that emerged after the crash showed several scorched bodies scattered around the wreckage.

Several people were seen in videos running around and screaming for help after catching fire.

There have been several train accidents in Egypt in recent years, the deadliest of which took place in 2002 when 373 people died in a fire that ripped through a crowded train south of the capital.