KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) -- At least 14 people died in one of the worst single road accidents in Malaysia in recent months after two buses collided as thousands of people returned to the cities after celebrating the Eid al-Fitr feastival, police said Sunday.

Mohamed Shakaruddin Che Mood, local police chief said the accident happened near Merapuh, in the central Pahang state on the Kuala Lipis-Kota Baharu highway.

Police said 13 people died on the spot while another victim died at a local hospital in the early Sunday accident.

The collision forced the temporary closure of the road resulting in hundreds of commuters being stranded.

"Even now, our buses from Kuala Lumpur have yet to arrive," Rosdi Abdul Rahim, general manager of an express bus company, Syarikat Kenderaan Melayu Kelantan Berhad was quoted as saying by Bernama News Agency.

Police said 24 passengers suffered injuries, including two with serious injuries, adding that both drivers of the buses survived the crash but one was seriously hurt.

Meanwhile, the death toll during the Eid festival until Saturday soared to 174 since a safety campaign was launched on November 20 with 8,297 accidents in the past 10 days.

During last year's Eid, 253 people perished in road accidents compared to 223 in 2001.