Fourteen people were killed and at least 25 injured when a passenger bus and a truck collided head-on on the Bonpara-Pabna highway in Baraigram, Natore, around 5 am, according to police and the district administration.

Nine died at the scene and five more died after being taken to hospitals, said Shafiqul Islam, officer-in-charge of Baraigram police station. Thirteen of the dead were male, including a child, he said. Police initially put the number of injured at between 20 and 25.

The district administration said it had formed a seven-member committee, headed by Additional District Magistrate Abul Hayat, to investigate the cause of the crash. The committee has been instructed to submit its report promptly.

The bus, operated by RP Paribahan, was travelling from Firozpur to Natore when it collided head-on with a truck heading from Panchagarh to Pabna, Shafiqul said.

Eyewitnesses said residents rushed to the scene after hearing a loud crash and helped rescue the injured. Deputy Commissioner Sumoni Akter and Superintendent of Police Shariful Haque visited the site, along with local political figures.

The district administration confirmed the death toll and said it would help the families bury the dead.