A train collision in the Egyptian city of Alexandria has killed 49 people, Egypt's state TV reported, as cited by Xinhua. A health ministry source put the number of people injured at 123.

The head-on collision, which took place near Khorshid station, derailed the engine of one train and two cars of the other, according to state news agency MENA.

Some people were still stuck inside the trains following the crash, a medical official told Egyptian state TV.

A railroad switching error was most likely the cause of the crash, according to a security source cited by Reuters.

أفادت مصادر أمنية مصرية، الجمعة، بوقوع قتلى وجرحى من جراء تصادم قطارين قرب مدينة الإسكندرية . #مصرpic.twitter.com/UvGaiDLUJP — أخبار عجمان (@ajmannews) August 11, 2017

"The train I was riding was going very quickly," said passenger Moumen Youssef, as quoted by Reuters. "I found myself on the floor. When we came out, we found four train cars crushed and a lot of people on the ground."

One of the trains was traveling from Cairo, while the other was heading from Port Said, Ahram Online reported.

Interior Ministry aides and security leaders have traveled to the location of the collision to inspect the scene, Egyptian newspaper Youm7 reported.

تصادم قطارين فى منطقة خورشيد بالإسكندرية

20 متوفى و50 مصابا حتى الآن

لا تخلطو بين القضاء والقدر وبين اهمال البشر..!! 😢

يارب سلم..#الاسكندريةpic.twitter.com/hWthqwRyuL — Jasmeen Fawzy~چاسمين (@JoJo_Fawzy) August 11, 2017

The acting prime minister of Egypt, Sherif Ismail, has also contacted the minister of transport following the crash, according to sources cited by Youm7.

Meanwhile, the railway authority has announced the formation of a technical committee to investigate the cause of the collision.

Public prosecutor Nabil Sadek has also ordered an urgent investigation.

Egypt has experienced other major train tragedies in the past, including a derailment which killed 19 people in Badr Rashin in Giza in 2013.

In 2012, a collision between a train and a school bus on a rail crossing killed 51 people, mostly children, in the town of Manaflut.