Cairo, Dec 10 (IANS): As many as 14 people were killed and six others injured in an explosion of a fuel truck in the Nile Delta city of Kafr el-Zayat, 80 km from Egypt's capital Cairo, the country's health ministry said Tuesday.

A fuel tanker overturned and exploded Monday night on a desert road between the coastal city of Alexandria and Gharbiya province, Xingua reported citing Middle East News Agency (MENA) which quoted interim Health Minister Maha Al Rabat.

The tanker flipped over when it tried to avoid colliding with a nearby car, Gharbiya's deputy security chief Abdel Rahaman Sharaf said, adding that a large quantity of fuel spilled, causing a huge fire in a microbus carrying passengers.

Traffic accidents are common in Egypt, killing at least 10,000 people every year, according to official reports.

Lack of highway monitoring systems, poor road maintenance and breaking traffic rules are common causes of the high rate of road accidents in the country.