A passenger train has collided with a freight train in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi, killing at least 17 people and wounding several others, Press TV reported.

The crash occurred on Tuesday on the outskirts of Pakistan's biggest city.

A senior railway official in the region said negligence on the part of the passenger train's driver was the cause.

"The driver did not follow the red signal and slammed into the parcel train," the DPA news agency quoted the official as saying.

Train accidents are common in Pakistan. A series of rail accidents across the country in recent years has triggered an outcry over the government's handling of transport safety.