At least three female garment factory workers were killed and eight others injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck on the Dhaka-Aricha highway in Manikganj's Shibaloy upazila yesterday morning.

The deceased are Bithi Akter, 35, Koli Begum, 32, and Sabina Akter, 25, according to Mohammad Ibrahim, officer-in-charge of Barangail Highway Police Station.

The OC said the bus was carrying the workers from the Aricha Ghat area to Tarasima Apparels Limited factory in the Nayadighi area of Saturia upazila when it collided with the truck around 6:15am.

The goods-laden truck veered off the road into a roadside ditch after severely damaging the front and one side of the bus.

Upon receiving the news, local fire service personnel, highway police, and residents rushed to the scene to assist in the rescue efforts, the OC said.

The injured -- Parvin, 25, Rehena, 20, Sonali, 25, Lipi, 24, Sathi, 21, Halima, 22, Suman, 32, and Rupa, 30 -- were admitted to Manikganj Medical College Hospital with "serious" injuries, the OC said.

The process to file a case over the accident was underway at Shibaloy Police Station, he added.