Five vehicles collide in Gopalganj, two die

Two persons, including a traffic policeman, have been killed and at least 15 others injured in a collision involving five vehicles in Gopalganj. The accident took place around 4:00 am on Saturday in front of the Gopinathpur police outpost on the Dhaka-Khulna highway.

Inspector Md Maksudur Rahman Morad of the Gopinathpur police outpost confirmed the incident to Prothom Alo, saying that two people died and 15 were injured. The vehicles involved have been seized.

According to police and witnesses, a Bolesswar Paribahan bus, which started from the capital for Khulna around 8:00 pm on Saturday, rammed into a parked truck on the roadside around 4:00 am. Later, two more buses – one from Arman Paribahan and another from SP Greenline – along with a private car got involved in the crash.

The deceased have been identified as Rafiquzzaman, an ATSI of the Bhatiapara highway police station, and Selim Hossain Bepari, the helper of the Arman Paribahan bus. Selim was the son of Abdul Hamid Bepari from Deben Babu Road in Sonadanga, Khulna.

The injured have been taken to the 250-bed hospital in Gopalganj, while the bodies of the deceased are now in police custody.

Uttam Roy, a physician of the hospital’s emergency ward, said the injured started coming to the hospital early in the morning. A total of 15 patients have been admitted after initial treatment. Among them, Baleshwar Paribahan driver Ibrahim and helper Rohan are in critical condition.

Rafiqul Islam, a passenger of the Bolesswar Paribahan bus, told Prothom Alo that he was asleep on the bus when he suddenly heard a loud crash, followed by screams. When he got off the bus, he found the helper of the Arman Paribahan bus had died on the spot.