Road accidents kill 10 in three districts
As many as 10 people were killed and some 21 others injured in separate road accidents in Rajbari, Rangpur and Khulna districts on Wednesday, reports news agency UNB.
In Rajbari, seven people, including two children, were killed and eight others injured when a truck crashed into a car and a battery-run three-wheeler in the morning.
The deceased were identified as Md Nasir, 35, the auto-rickshaw driver, Noyon Sheikh, 9, Md Yusuf, 6, Mariam, 40, Marjina Begum, 40, Shila Khatun, 20, and Mashiran Bibi, 60, of the district’s Pangsha upazila.
The accident occurred at around 9:00am when the driver lost control of the speeding truck and crashed into the two vehicles in the Chandpur Railgate area of Kalukhali upazila, police said.
“While three people died on the spot in the impact of the crash, four others succumbed to their injuries on the way to hospital,” said Liakat Ali, officer-in-charge of Pangsha highway police.
Some of the injured have been hospitalised, he said. “We have seized the truck that was heading towards Kushtia, but its driver and helper managed to escape.”
In Khulna, two persons were killed and at least 11 others injured when a bus hit a motorcycle before plunging into a roadside ditch in Khulna this morning, police said.
The deceased were identified as motorcyclist Ali Osman from Khaliskhali village in Satkhira, and Abdul Khaleq from Golna village in Khulna. Ali Osman worked as a medical representative while Abul Khaleq was a logging worker.
The accident occurred at around 8.30am in the Gutudia area of Dumuria upazila.
“The Satkhira-bound bus hit the motorcycle coming from the opposite direction and plunged into a roadside ditch after its driver lost control of the vehicle,” said Mohammad Shafiq, sub-inspector at Dumuria police station.
The crash left the biker and a bus passenger dead on the spot. “Of the injured, three are being treated at the upazila health complex while eight were shifted to Khulna Medical College and Hospital,” he said.
In Rangpur, a 22-year-old woman was killed while her husband and their minor child were injured when a truck hit their bike in the Baraibari area of Gangachhara upazila of the district in the morning.
The deceased was identified as Dithi Begum, wife of Md Mahmud.
The accident occurred at around 11:00am when the truck crashed into the bike, leaving Dithi dead on the spot, said Dulal Hossain, officer-in-charge of Gangachhara police station.
Road accidents in Bangladesh continue to claim hundreds of lives every year.
As many as 543 people, including 81 children, were killed and 612 others injured in 427 road accidents in April, the Road Safety Foundation said in its latest report, released on 7 May.
The non-government organisation said 206 lives were lost in 189 motorcycle accidents, which is 37.93 per cent of the total deaths. Also, 116 pedestrians and 87 drivers and their assistants were killed in March accidents.
On the other hand, accidents on waterways claimed at least eight lives while 23 were killed and five injured in train accidents across Bangladesh last month.