MULTAN: A passenger van crashed into a pick-up truck in Bahawalpur district Tuesday, killing 26 people including women and children, police said.

The accident occurred at a busy highway intersection near Bahawalpur town, south of the central city of Multan.

Sohail Tajik, District Police Officer of Bahawalpur, told media that the accident took place at noon when a Hiace passenger van had a head-on collision with a truck on a highway in Bahawalpur, a private television channel reported.

An official told AFP that those killed in the crash included 11 women and two children.

A senior doctor at Bahawal-Victoria Hospital, Muhammad Irshad Chaudhry, confirmed the casualties.

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