Storm relief workers killed in Philippine collision

MANILA - A van carrying church volunteers returning home from Christmas relief operations in typhoon ravaged areas in the Philippines collided head on with a passenger bus Sunday, killing six, police said.

Four members of the Calamba Pastor Alliance and their driver were killed instantly in the pre-dawn accident, as well as the driver of the bus, according to a national police report in Manila.

Four others were injured and recuperating in hospital after the collision on a highway in central Sorsogon province, the police said.

The police statement did not say whether the bus was carrying any passengers at the time of the accident.

Police investigator Jose Distacamento said the group was on its way home to its ministry in Calamba town after completing a relief mission in the typhoon-hit city of Tacloban.

"Witnesses said the van was speeding along the highway and did not see the bus," he told local television.

Super Typhoon Haiyan devastated the central Philippines last month, triggering tsunami-like giant waves that left at least 6,155 dead and over 1,700 officially missing.

Tacloban city was among the worst-hit areas, accounting for many of the deaths.