Four people were killed and 17 others were wounded when a school bus collided with a truck on the Cairo-Suez road on Tuesday, according to a health ministry statement.

The dead included a six-year-old student, the driver and a teacher, the statement said.

All the wounded are in stable condition, except for two sisters in serious conditions, it added.

Nine ambulances rushed to the scene of the crash and carried the injured to the nearest two hospitals in Suez and Cairo.

Road accidents are common in Egypt due to lack of highway monitoring systems, poor road maintenance and negligence of traffic rules.

"Egypt loses about 12,000 lives due to road traffic crashes every year. It has a road traffic fatality rate of 42 deaths per 100,000 population," according to the World Health Organization.