Bus collides with three-wheel taxi, killing seven in northern Bangladesh

A bus collided with a three-wheel taxi Monday in northern Bangladesh, killing seven people and injuring 10 others, according to the independent United News of Bangladesh.

Five people including three children died at the scene, while two more died on the way to hospital in nearby Pabna town, 75 miles north of the capital, Dhaka.

The seven dead and another ten who were injured in the accident were traveling in the taxi - a three-wheeled van, the agency reported.

Police seized the bus, and were investigating the cause of the accident.

Nearly 4,000 people die each year in road accidents in this South Asian nation, according to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority figures. Experts blame most of the accidents on poorly maintained vehicles, erratic driving and disregard for lax traffic laws.

On Oct. 15, at least 25 people were killed when a speeding bus plunged into a river while ascending a bridge in northern Bogra district, the AP reports.