Two women have been killed in a road crash in Egypt's southern governorate of Sohag, state news agency MENA reported, the latest in frequent traffic accidents plaguing the Arab world's most populous country.

Four other members of the same family were wounded in the accident which took place early on Wednesday on a highway connecting the governorate with the Red Sea.

The middle-aged women were transferred to a local hospital in Sohag and the injured to another hospital in the neighbouring Assiut governorate.

Hundreds die and thousands are injured every year in road crashes in Egypt, notorious for its poor road safety record and loosely enforced traffic regulations.

A recent government report said that 100,000 car accidents took place in Egypt from 2008 to 2012, with 33,000 killed and another 150,000 injured.