One of the trains was not carrying any passengers at the time.

"The injured were taken to hospitals and there were no deaths," Moez Triaa, a civil defence spokesman told the AFP news agency.

Around 15 ambulance vehicles were at the scene to rush the injured to hospitals. Most of the injuries were minor, with none life-threatening.

In recent years, Tunisia had experienced several fatal train accidents. In 2016 at least five people were killed and more than 50 injured. In 2015, at least 18 people were killed when a train crashed into a lorry.