At least 10 people have been killed and more than 20 people injured in a fire at a railway station in Cairo, Egyptian officials say.

The head of Cairo Railroad hospital, Mohammed Said, said the death toll at the main station in the capital is expected to rise.

The fire is said to have been triggered by an exploding fuel tank on a speeding train travelling into Ramses Station.

Rising plumes of black smoke could been seen rising into the sky as the blaze broke out.

According to the Al-Ahram newspaper, the train crashed and the fuel tank exploded, sparking the fire.

However, the details surrounding the fire are yet to be confirmed.

Rescue workers stand next to a burnt out wagons sit on the railway tracks after a fire caused deaths and injuries at the main train station in Cairo | Image: Ahmed Abd Elfatah/DPA/PA Images

A witness said there was a blast after a train rammed into a barrier at the station. He also said he saw charred bodies on the ground.

Mina Ghaly said: "I was standing on the platform and I saw the train speed into the barrier.

"Everyone started running but a lot of people died after the locomotive exploded.

"I saw at least nine corpses lying on the ground, charred."

Rescue workers stand next to a burnt out wagons sit on the railway tracks after a fire caused deaths and injuries at the main train station in Cairo | Image: Ahmed Abd Elfatah/DPA/PA Images