Bus crash kills at least 18 in Faridpur, Bangladesh

At least 18 people have been killed in a bus crash in the Faridpur district of south-west Bangladesh, police say. Reports say the bus skidded off the road in heavy fog before hitting a tree and landing in a ditch. Local police chief Awlad Ali Fakir told the Associated Press news agency that 56 people were injured and taken to hospital, some in a serious condition. Some 4,000 people die each year in road accidents in Bangladesh, with officials blaming poor roads and bad driving. Police inspector Israfil Hawlader told the AFP news agency the driver appeared to have lost his way on the foggy highway. "The injured were rushed to local hospitals," he said. In early December, at least 20 people were killed and some 45 injured when two buses collided in Faridpur.