Six die as bus hits CNG-run auto-rickshaw in Chattogram

Six people were killed and eight others injured when a bus ran over a CNG-run auto-rickshaw in Patiya upazila of Chttogram.

The accident took place on Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar highway in Jolur Dighirpar area of Patiya around 8:00pm on Monday.

Officer-in-charge (OC) of Patiya police station Rashedul Islam confirmed Prothom Alo about the deaths.

According to witnesses and police, a CNG-run auto-rickshaw, carrying passengers, were going to Patiya around 8:00pm. At that time, a Patiya-bound bus hit the auto-rickshaw from behind, killing the five passengers of the three-wheeler on the spot. The bus turned turtle as its driver lost control over the steering, leaving eight others injured.

Shafiul Alam, owners of Patia Hotel in Komolmunsi Haat area and a former union parishad member, claimed to have witnessed the accident. He said, “I was returning to Patiya from Cox’s Bazar. The bus that was ahead of us were running fast. All of a sudden, I saw its driver jumping out of the bus through window. The bus then ran over the auto-rickshaw and overturned.”

“Five people who were on the three-wheeler died on the spot. I also rescued several passengers of the bus and sent them to hospital. The bus passenger informed me that its driver jumped off the bus after losing control over the steering,” he added.

A passenger of the bus also died in the accident.

OC Rashedul Islam said seven to eight people sustaining injuries in the accident were rescued and sent to the Upazila Health Complex. Many passengers also managed to get out of the overturned bus on their own, the OC added.