DHAKA, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Seven people, including six members of the same family, were killed in a fatal road accident on Wednesday morning in Bangladesh's Lakshmipur district, some 137 km southeast of capital Dhaka.

Shahjahan Khan, a highway patrol official in the district, told local journalists that the ill fated passengers were going to see an ailing relative in a hospital when the family in an auto-rickshaw met the accident at about 5:00 a.m. local time Wednesday.

The auto-rickshaw's driver also died on the spot, he said.

According to the official, the ill-fated auto-rickshaw was hit by a truck on the highway.

Bangladesh has one of the highest fatality rates for road accidents in the world mainly due to shoddy highways, poorly maintained vehicles, violation of traffic rules and lack of monitoring of the traffic department.