Dhaka  -  At least 18 people were killed and some 30 injured Wednesday when an express train slammed into a bus on a level crossing in central Bangladesh, officials and witnesses said.

The pre-dawn accident happened near the farming town of Kalihati in central Tangail district, local police chief Abdul Mannan said.

Villagers in the area were awakened by the loud sound of the crash and the wailing of passengers on the bus which was crumpled like a piece of paper, police superintendent Mannan said.

The death toll was expected to rise as the condition of many of the wounded was critical, district commissioner Akhtar Ali Sarkar said. Rescuers said the bus had been carrying mostly holidaymakers from local villages.

"It is a major tragedy as so many people perished in the accident," Sarkar, who guided the rescue and search operation, said.

Initial reports blamed the collision on a gatekeeper of the state- run railways who had apparently failed to shut down the level crossing gate before the train arrived.

The intercity Ekota Express was travelling from the northern city of Dinajpur and was headed for the capital Dhaka, railway officials said. (dpa)