Our Correspondent

A bus crashed into an express train at a rail-crossing in Kalihati upazila in Tangail early Wednesday. killing 17 people, police said.

The accident occurred shortly after three in the morning when a bus was hit by the Ekata Express train at Rajabari rail crossing, Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Saifullahil Azam told bdnews24.com by phone from the scene.

The bus passengers were mainly clothes traders, and initial reports indicate all of the deceased were from Bolla union in the district. "The bus started its journey from Bollarampur in Kalihati at about 2am, with around 70 clothes traders on board," Azam said.

The bus was crossing Elenga Rajabari rail crossing in Kalihati upazila at about three in the morning when the train, which runs from Dhaka to Dinajpur, slammed into it.

"The impact smashed the bus and it plunged into a roadside ditch," said the UNO. At least 16 people died on the spot, including the bus driver, and another passenger passed away on route to hospital. The injured have been admitted to Tangail General Hospital, where seven remain in a critical condition.

Authorities are yet to locate the rail crossing's gateman, Azam said, adding that it initially appeared as if the attendant was asleep at the time of the tragedy and failed to lower the crossbar ahead of the express train's arrival.

Police and joint forces arrived on the scene shortly after the accident and immediately launched a rescue operation.

Tangail deputy commission Akhter Ali Sarker and superintendent of police Abdul Mannan have also visited the spot. The bus was hauled out of the roadside ditch at around six in the morning. Bolla Union Parishad chairman Kmaruzzaman Aslam appealed to the local magistrate to have the victims bodies released without autopsy, although they are yet to be handed over to relatives.

The dead have been identified as Saiful Islam, 45, Soleman, 45, Sirajul, 30, Korban Ali, 25, Ahmed Ali, 42, Faruk Hossain, 26, Ahad Hossain, 35, Shafique, 32, Dulal, 38, Faruk Hossain, 30, Monir Hossain, 35, Sujat Ali, 50, Al Amin, 20, Golam Hossain, 20, Fazlul Faque, 45, Alauddin Ali, 42 and bus driver Abdus Samad, 45.