A bus carrying garment workers heading for a picnic lost control and crashed into an electricity pole in southern Bangladesh on Thursday, killing at least 14 people, an official said. Another 15 were injured.

Some of the victims suffered burns because they were struck by live electrical wires snapped by the bus, area administrator Sajjadul Hasan said.

The crash occurred in Cox's Bazar, 185 miles south of the capital Dhaka.

Rescuers recovered 14 bodies from the scene, Hasan said. Of the injured, at least two were in serious condition. There were at least 47 garment workers in the vehicle on their way to a picnic, he said.

Road accidents, often blamed in faulty vehicles and unskilled driving, kill at least 5,000 people a year in Bangladesh, a nation of 150 million.

PHOTO CAPTION

Map of Bangladesh

AP