At least eight people were killed and 21 injured when a bus crashed into a truck near Aswan [EPA]

At least eight people have been killed and 21 injured after a tour bus carrying 37 American passengers crashed into a truck near the southern Egyptian city of Aswan, state media has reported.

A US embassy press official said they was aware of the accident on Sunday and would provide consular assistance to the tourists and their families.

The bus was transporting a tour group from Aswan to the ancient  Abu Simbel temples early on Sunday morning when it collided into a truck parked on the side of the road.

The crash killed six women and two men, putting four passengers in critical condition. The driver and a tourist guide were also injured.

Tourists on board two other buses in the convoy were unharmed.

Numerous accidents

According to Egyptian security officials, the injured passengers were immediately transferred to a military hospital for treatment.

Road accidents are common in Egypt due to bad roads and poor enforcement of traffic rules, and crashes involving tour groups are not uncommon.

Last month, eight foreign tourists were killed when their tour bus lost control and flipped over several times on a winding mountain road near a resort on the Red Sea coast, while in October six Belgian tourists were killed in a crash in the south.

An estimated 8,000 people die in car accidents annually in Egypt.