Dhaka  -  At least 18 people were killed and some 30 injured Wednesday as a speeding 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 in the darkness of night, police superintendent Mannan said.

The death toll in the train-bus collision would rise as the condition of many of the wounded was critical, District Commissioner Akhtar Ali Sarkar said.

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

Initial reports blamed the disaster on a gatekeeper from the state-run railway who did not apparently shut down the level crossing gate before the arrival of the train.

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

Rescuers said the bus was carrying mostly holidaymakers from local villages.

The gatekeeper absconded after the accident as the railways ordered a probe into the crash. (dpa)