13 dead in bus-pickup collision

At least 13 people were dead and at leastg two were injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a pickup van on Dhaka-Khulna highway at Sadar upazila in Faridpur district at around 7:45am. 

Identities of the deceased could not be known immediately. 

MD. Hasanuzzaman, officer-in-charge (OC) of Faridpur Sadar Kotwali Police Station, said that a Magura-bound bus of Uttara Unique Paribahan from Dhaka collided with a Faridpur-bound pickup van. 

The pickup van was coming from Alfadanga of Faridpur carring all the "deceased passengers". 

It was initially not known why the passengers boarded the pickup van instead of using conventional public transport. 

The injured have been admitted to Faridpur Medical College Hospital.

On information, a Fire Service team rushed to the spot and conducted rescue operations, said the OC.