Cairo, April 28 (IANS) At least nine people were killed and eleven others injured Sunday in an accident involving six vehicles and a motorbike on a highway toward Upper Egypt, the media reported.

The accident took place near a textile factory on Fayoum-Beni Sweif road, about 100 km south of the capital Cairo, Xinhua reported citing state-run Ahram news website.

According to the World Health Organisation, Egypt loses about 12,000 lives in road traffic crashes every year.

Egyptian experts said Egypt has the highest rate in road accidents worldwide, with about 13,000 deaths and 60,000 injuries every year, which cost the country around $2 billion annually.

The main reasons behind such a high rate of road accident include lack of highway monitoring systems, poor road maintenance and negligence of traffic rules.