A truck carrying iron rods and extra passengers overturned on a major highway early Monday in central Bangladesh, leaving at least 15 people dead and 10 others injured, police said.

The crash happened after the driver lost control around 5 am at Soratoil area in Tangail district, 83 kilometres (52 miles) northwest of the nation's capital, Dhaka, said local police chief Fuad Hossain.