Xmas tragedy: 20 die in Philippines bus crash

At least 20 people have been killed and 24 others injured when a passenger bus collided head-on with a mini-bus carrying people on the way to Christmas Mass at a popular church in Agoo town, 200 kilometres north of Manila in the Philippines.

Romulo Sapitula, Police Chief Superintendent said all the fatalities including a seven-month-old baby were the passengers of the jeepney, a type of mini-bus which is the most popular mode of public transport in the country.

Fifteen of the injured were bus passengers, while nine were in the jeepney.

The victims were bound for Our Lady of Manaoag, a Roman Catholic church in northern Pangasinan province that has long been popular among pilgrims and Catholics praying for the sick and impoverished, reports the Associated Press citing police.