Fiery head-on crash in central Bangladesh leaves 13 dead

At least 13 people were killed and dozens of others injured in a fiery crash between a bus and a pickup truck, carrying gas cylinders, in Bangladesh's central Faridpur district, some 101 km away from the capital Dhaka, on Friday night, the district's police chief Subhash Chandra Saha told Xinhua.

He said the fatal road accident took place on a highway connecting the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka and southern Khulna divisional town, some 180 km southwest of the capital city.

He said the bus and the truck collided at around 11:30 p.m. local time on Friday night and the collision sparked a huge fire.

Saha confirmed the death of 13 people, saying the toll might rise as some of the 20-30 injured passengers were rescued in critical condition.

"Fire fighters recovered 13 charred bodies inside the bus after the accident," he said.

The cause for the accident is not immediately available, said the official.

Bangladesh has one of the highest fatality rates for road accidents in the world due mainly to shoddy highways, poorly maintained vehicles, violation of traffic rules and lack of monitoring of the traffic department.

Thousands of people are killed in road accidents in Bangladesh every year, and many of the fatalities occur in rural areas.

Source: Xinhua