At least 19 people killed after a car explosion in Egypt: Health ministry

At least 19 people were killed and 30 others injured in an explosion outside Egypt's National Cancer Institute in central Cairo, Egypt's health ministry said early on Monday.

The interior ministry said one car, driving against the traffic was speeding and collided with the others, causing the explosion.

But why the crash caused such a large explosion was not immediately clear. It also was not clear if the casualties were all from the vehicles.

Egypt’s public prosecutor is investigating the cause of the incident.

Videos posted online showed fire tenders trying to control a massive fire that damaged several cars.

The health ministry said the injured people were taken to hospitals for treatment.

Road accidents are common in Egypt. The country's official statistics agency says 8,000 crashes last year caused more than 3,000 deaths and 12,000 injuries.