At least 13 people were killed and 23 others injured when two passenger buses collided with a parked car on a motorway in central Myanmar, rescue services said Thursday.

The crash near central Kyaukpadaung township in Mandalay region occurred at around 8:25 pm local (0155 GMT) Wednesday night. 

"Altogether 10 men and three women were killed," Myanmar Fire Services Department said.

Thirteen men and one woman were seriously injured, the service said, adding that five men and four women were lightly hurt. All were sent for treatment at nearby Kyaukpadaung hospital.

Rescue vehicles, workers and social service organisations rushed to the scene following the accident.

The cause of the collision was not known.

Since the military coup in February last year, a nighttime curfew has encouraged drivers to rush to their destinations.

But road accidents were already common in Myanmar, where the transport network is in poor condition.

Nineteen people were killed in a bus accident on a highway near border outpost Myawaddy in 2017.

According to the latest World Health Organization data from 2018, only Thailand ranked worse than Myanmar in Southeast Asia for road fatalities and accidents.

AFP