At least eight people were killed and 20 more injured on Sunday morning when a packed bus slammed into a tree in Bangladesh's southern Barisal district, some 180 km south of Dhaka, local media reported.

All the injured were rushed to local hospitals and clinics, and some were in critical condition.

The accident took place at around 5:40 a.m. local time as the driver appeared to have lost control of the bus on a highway during an overnight journey.

There're a total of 42 people on board.

(With input from Xinhua)