A train crashed into a bus on a level crossing injuring 45 people in Cambodia.

The coach was taking dozens of local holidaymakers to a mountain resort when it approached the railway tracks in the Krakor district of Pursat province on Friday March 29.

CCTV shows how the train sounded its warning horn before smashing into the white passenger vehicle, pushing it along the tracks before coming to a stop. At least 45 passengers were injured - five of them critically - and taken to hospital.

Police said the bus driver had fled the scene after the collision. They are now searching for him on suspicion of reckless driving leading to the injuries.

Regional police chief General Sar Theng said the bus attempted to cross the tracks even though the oncoming train had loudly sounded its horn as it approached.

The bus driver fled, leaving behind the injured passengers, who were aided by police and villagers and taken to hospitals for treatment, he added.

General Theng said a previous barrier at the crossing had broken and had not yet been replaced. He said there is a large sign warning that there is a railroad crossing ahead and urging drivers to proceed slowly.

He said: 'The incident would not have happened if the driver was driving responsibly.'

Officials said all of the passengers were Cambodian domestic tourists who were on their way to a mountain resort for a holiday.

The country is still recovering from the atrocities of the U.S. carpet bombing under President Richard Nixon - the notorious madman theory - which led to the rise of the Khmer Rouge and genocide in the 1970s.

Cambodia's rudimentary civil infrastructure is yet to develop to the standards of neighbouring countries.