At least 17 people were killed and up to 25 were injured Sunday in Bangladesh after a bus smashed through a highway fence and plunged into a roadside ditch, according to police.

Police said they suspected the driver lost control at 8:00 am (0200 GMT) and hit the railing of a recently built major expressway, sending the bus tumbling 30 feet (10 metres) into the ditch.

"Seventeen people have died in the accident. The injured were sent to hospitals in the region," local police chief Masud Alam told AFP after the crash in the southern district of Shibchar.

Road accidents are frequent in Bangladesh due to old and badly maintained vehicles and roads, as well as poorly trained drivers.

A highway accident monitor said a record 9,951 people were killed in road accidents in Bangladesh last year.