Banda (Uttar Pradesh), Nov 25 (IANS): Nine persons, including a child, were killed when a bus collided head-on with a speeding truck in Uttar Pradesh's Banda district on Monday afternoon, police said.

The bus with 45 passengers on board, was on its way to Fatehpur from Banda and collided with a truck near the Semri nullah on Fatehpur road. The accident also left over 20 passengers injured, police said.

Soon after the mishap, a police team was dispatched to the spot to start rescue operations. The injured were admitted to a local hospital and the vehicles that had turned into a mangled heap of iron were removed from the spot to allow traffic movement on the road.

The bodies were sent to post mortem and efforts are on to establish the identity of the deceased.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief over their deaths in the accident and has directed officials to ensure proper treatment of the injured passengers.