MULTAN: Police said two speeding buses coming from opposite directions have collided and crashed into a van on a highway in central Pakistan, killing 10 people and injuring 17 others.

Local police chief Arfan Buhadar said the collision took place early on Sunday near the town of Jam Shoro, about 100 kilometres southeast of the city of Multan.

He said some of the injured are in critical condition and that the death toll could increase.

Buhadar says the drivers of the two buses fled shortly after the accident and an initial investigation shows careless driving was behind the crash.

Road accidents are common in Pakistan because of poor road conditions and disregard for safety standards and traffic rules by drivers.

Recently, at least 26 people were killed and 46 others injured when a passenger bus plunged into a ravine in northern Pakistan.

The crash took place near Dhok Pathan village, some 115 kilometres southwest of the capital Islamabad.

“At least 26 people have died and 46 others were injured when a passenger bus lost control at a slope and veered off into a deep ravine,” local police official Fazal Abbas said.

The bus was carrying members of Tableeghi Jamaat from the northwestern town of Kohat to the eastern city of Raiwind, near Lahore where their annual gathering was taking place, he added.

Abbas said that most of the injured were discharged from hospital after receiving medical treatment, but at least 10 seriously wounded passengers were sent to Rawalpindi, a garrison city adjoining the capital Islamabad.

Officials added that the bus was not driving on its usual route when it crashed and was plying hilly roads after another motorway had been closed due to dense fog and traffic.

A local government official confirmed the accident and toll.

In March, at least 13 people were killed and 15 injured in a head-on collision between a passenger bus and a truck in Sindh province.

The accident took place near Kahirpur district’s Setharja area.

Pakistan has one of the world’s worst records for fatal traffic accidents, many of them blamed on poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.