7 killed as train hits electric rickshaw

At least seven people were killed after a train hit a battery-run autorickshaw at an unauthorised level crossing in Burichang upazila of Cumilla yesterday.

The Dhaka-bound Chattala Express from Chattogram hit the autorickshaw in the Kalikapur area around 10:30am, said Azizul Haque, officer-in-charge of Burichang Police Station.

The deceased are the driver of the autorickshaw and its passengers.

They are Rafiz Ali, 65, and Hosne Ara, 60, of Khudaidhuli village; Lutfa Begum, 60, Saforjan, 65, Shahinur Akter Sanu, 33, and Ali Ahammad, 77, of Bakshimul village of Burichang upazila; and autorickshaw driver Shajahan Sazu, 40.

Sanu was pregnant and was going to see a doctor, said her family members.

Four people died on the spot, and three other injured died on the way to Comilla Medical College Hospital, said Mostafa Kamal, sub-inspector of Cumilla Railway Police Outpost.

Locals and witnesses said the autorickshaw was heading towards Fakirbazar from Bakshimul village. It was hit by the train just as it got onto the rail tracks in Kalikapur, where the level crossing had no barriers or a guard.

After the collision, the train dragged the mangled autorickshaw for about 1.5km from Kalikapur towards Razapur railway station, said police.

ABM Kamruzzaman, divisional railway manager of Chattogram, confirmed that the rail crossing where the incident took place was unauthorised.

He said his department was not responsible for appointing guards or setting up barriers at unauthorised level crossings.

When asked how there was an illegal level crossing at the spot, he said it could have been set up by another government agency.

When asked who is in charge of hiring a guard to protect such an unauthorised level crossing, the railway officer did not make a comment.

Burichang Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Shahida Akter could not be reached for a comment.

According to Bangladesh Railway data as of August 2022, there were 3,111 level crossings in the country. Of those, 1,225 were unauthorised.