Hanoi - Sixteen people were killed and at least 14 others injured in a traffic accident in central Vietnam, a traffic police official said Monday.

A bus collided head-on with a container truck Sunday morning at around 4 am in Dien Chau District in the province of Nghe An, 270 kilometres south of Hanoi, while traveling North on National Highway 1.

"This is the most serious traffic accident in our province since 2000," said Tran Van Thai, head of traffic police department of Nghe An province.

Vo Minh Duc, an official at the provincial road safety board, said the section of road where the accident occurred was in good condition. While it was raining lightly, Duc thought the accident was more likely caused by the driver of the bus having lost control of the wheel.

The driver of the container truck, Vuong Thanh Quang, 30, was mildly injured and has been detained for further questioning.

"Three of the fourteen injured are in very dangerous condition," said Dr Vo Van Hoa of the Nghe An province hospital, where the injured were being treated. "We have tried our best, but we can not say for sure whether they will live."

According to the latest figures released by Vietnam's National Committee for Traffic Safety, traffic accidents kill approximately 30 people and injure 60 others every day, and the number of fatalities continues to rise. (dpa)