16 killed in road accidents amid Eid celebrations, 10 of them motorcyclists
Ten of the victims were motorcycle riders. Five people were killed in Gopalganj, while two each died in Dinajpur, Faridpur, Narsingdi and Patuakhali.
At least 16 people lost their lives in road accidents in different districts across the country amid the Eid celebrations. Some of them were returning home for Eid, some had gone out with friends after Eid prayers, while some others were travelling back to Dhaka by bus. Among the dead, 10 were riding motorcycles.
In the 24 hours between Wednesday evening and Thursday evening, road accidents claimed five lives in Gopalganj, three in Faridpur, two each in Dinajpur, Narsingdi and Patuakhali, and one each in Madaripur and Narail. The victims included three children and two teenagers.
Five killed in Gopalganj
Five people were killed in a head-on collision between a bus and a motorcycle in Gopalganj. At least 25 others were injured in the accident, which occurred around noon yesterday, Thursday on the Dhaka-Khulna highway in the Bedgram area of Gopalganj town.
The identities of three of the five deceased have been confirmed. They are Shayan Dhali, 20, son of Somesh Dhali of Barobaria village in Chitalmari upazila of Bagerhat; Sowaib Sheikh, son of Mahabub Sheikh of Golagram in the same upazila; and Khadija Khatun, daughter of Abdul Khalek of Kolardoyania village in Nazirpur upazila of Pirojpur.
According to the superintendent of police, a passenger bus of Dola Paribahan travelling from Dhaka to Pirojpur collided head-on with a motorcycle coming from the opposite direction when it reached the Bedgram area. The bus then lost control and overturned on the road.
Two people riding the motorcycle and two passengers of the bus died on the spot. Fire service personnel and police later rescued the injured and took them to Gopalganj Medical College Hospital and Gopalganj General Hospital. A six-year-old child later succumbed to injuries at the hospital.
8 motorcycle riders killed in 4 districts
Eight people were killed in Faridpur, Narsingdi, Patuakhali and Narail. All of them were either riding or travelling on motorcycles.
In Patuakhali, two teenage motorcyclists were killed in a head-on collision with an auto-rickshaw while out for a ride after Eid prayers. The accident occurred around 11:00 am yesterday in the Grameen Bank area of the upazila town.
The deceased were identified as Md Faisal Hawlader, 16, and Tamim Matubbar, 16, both residents of the Shyamalibagh area in Ward No. 2 of Galachipa municipality.
In Shibpur, Narsingdi, two young men were killed in a head-on collision between motorcycles. One died at the scene on Wednesday evening, while the other died yesterday morning while undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
The deceased were Ruman Mia, 26, of Pratapnagar village in Jhenaigati upazila of Sherpur and Chan Mia, 19, of Baghata village in Shilmandi union of Narsingdi Sadar upazila.
In Bhanga, Faridpur, two motorcycle riders were killed in a head-on collision between two motorcycles. Two passengers travelling on the motorcycles were also injured. The accident took place around 10:30 pm on Wednesday on the Dhaka-Barishal highway near the Purba Sadardi bus stand in Bhanga upazila.
The deceased were Saiful Molla, 25, of Gangadardi area in Bhanga upazila and Al Imran Sharif, 28, of Jianagar neighbourhood in Rupatali Housing area of Barishal Sadar upazila.
In another incident in the same upazila around 7:00 pm yesterday, Md Alimuzzaman Matubbar, 55, was killed in a head-on collision between two motorcycles in front of the CCBL oil pump in Suadi village under Algi union. Three other riders were injured in the accident. Alimuzzaman was a resident of Uttarkandi village in Kaichail union of Nagarkanda upazila in Faridpur.
In Lohagara, Narail, a young man was killed in a motorcycle accident while out riding. The accident occurred around 3:00 pm on Thursday near Alamunsi Mor in the upazila when the motorcycle collided with a bus. Another rider on the motorcycle was seriously injured.
The deceased, Sabbir Gazi, 18, was the son of Babul Gazi of Dighalia village in Abhaynagar upazila of Jashore. The injured, Shawkat Hossain, 19, is the son of Ripon Gazi from the same village.
Three more killed in two districts
Two children were killed in Dinajpur’s Ghoraghat upazila when a CNG-run auto-rickshaw crashed into the back of a stationary truck on the highway. The children’s mothers were also injured in the accident, which occurred around 5:30 am on Thursday on the Dinajpur-Gobindaganj regional highway near Kanagari Bazar.
The deceased children were Md Abdullah, 4, of Rashidpur village in Panchbibi upazila of Joypurhat and Arifa Khatun, 4, of Baro Aria village in Hakimpur upazila of Dinajpur.
In another incident, Sattar Hawlader, 55, died after falling from a bus in Shibchar, Madaripur. The accident occurred yesterday afternoon in the Shimana area adjacent to the Padma Bridge on the Dhaka-Bhanga Expressway. Sattar Hawlader was from Sadarpur in Faridpur.
He had been sitting near the front engine cover of a Prochesta Paribahan bus travelling from Bhanga to Dhaka. The accident occurred when the driver suddenly applied the brakes near Shimana area.
[Prothom Alo correspondents from Gopalganj, Madaripur, Rajbari, Narsingdi, Patuakhali, Narail and Birampur in Dinajpur provided information for this report.]