DHAKA, Feb 19, 2010 - A Thai diplomat has been killed in northern Bangladesh when her vehicle - part of a convoy accompanying Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn - had a fatal head on collision, police said Friday.

Pannyee Lickanajule, 55, deputy head of mission at Thailand's Embassy in Dhaka, was accompanying Princess Sirindhorn on a trip to a rural development project, the Tangail district police chief said.

The minibus Pannyee was travelling in "had fallen behind the Princess's motorcade and collided head on with a truck laden with iron-rods. The minibus plunged into a ditch," Mizanur Rahman told AFP.

Pannyee suffered extensive chest injuries, was rushed to hospital but died almost immediately, Rahman said, adding that the driver of the iron-rod truck had abandoned the vehicle and fled the scene of the accident.

Road accidents are common in Bangladesh and kill some 5,000 people a year.

Shoddy highways, lax enforcement of traffic rules and commercial truck drivers' wanton disregard for road safety are blamed for most of the accidents.