Fun trip ends in tragedy

A picnic was organised to boost the morale of a batch of SSC and HSC students, but the smiling faces in the group photo taken yesterday morning will remain a poignant reminder that some of those lives were cruelly cut short mere hours later.

Hours after the now viral group photo was taken, the vehicle they rented for the trip got hit by a train at a level crossing in Mirsharai, Chattogram. Eleven people in the vehicle died at the scene and six others were critically injured, while one escaped with minor scratches.

Besides the driver and his assistant, there were 12 students and four teachers of R&J Coaching Center in the Toyota HiAce. They left Jugirhat area of Hathazari in the port city around 9:00am for Khoiyachora waterfall in Mirsharai.

The crash occurred at Purba Khoiyachora Jhorna level crossing around 1:45pm when they were on their way back. Officials said the Chattogram-bound Mohanagar Probhati Express train hit the vehicle and dragged it for at least a kilometre before the train came to a halt.

The railway authorities said a guard of the level crossing signalled the vehicle to stop at the crossing, but the driver ignored him. However, officials quoting the locals said there was no one at the crossing.

Of the dead, Golam Mostafa Niru, 26, was the driver; Mostafa Masud Rakib, 19, Redwan Chowdhury, 22, Ziaul Haque Sajib, 22, and Wahidul Alam Jisan, 23, were teachers of the coaching centre; and Moshab Ahmed Hisham, 16, Sagor, 13, Mohammad Hasan, and Iqbal Hossain Maruf were students.

Two other bodies were yet to be identified, said Minhajur Rahman, upazila nirbahi officer of Mirsharai.

Six others, including the driver's helper, were admitted to Chattogram Medical College Hospital in critical condition. Everyone on board the vehicle were residents of Jugirhat area of Hathazari.

Muhammad Emon, an SSC candidate, who only suffered minor injuries to his ear and leg, told The Daily Star: "Most of us were tired and asleep. I was on the left side in the middle row. Suddenly I woke up to a loud noise and discovered myself on the ground beside the rail tracks."

He could not say anything further.

Saddam, a gateman of the railway, told reporters immediately after the crash that he was at the level crossing and the barriers were lowered because the train was approaching. But a passenger of the vehicle got down and pulled up the barrier. The vehicle then attempted to cross the tracks.

Police later held Saddam for interrogation, said Hasan Chowdhury, superintendent of General Railway Police (GRP) in Chattogram.

Jahangir Hossain, general manager (east zone) of Bangladesh Railway, also told reporters that he heard that the driver of the vehicle ignored the gateman.

However, quoting witnesses, police and the UNO said no gateman was present at the level crossing and the barriers on both sides of the crossing were not lowered at the time.

Locals said they first heard a loud bang and a screeching noise. They later saw the mangled vehicle in front of the locomotive and started rescuing the passengers before the firefighters arrived.

"Firefighters recovered 11 bodies and rescued the injured passengers," said Station Officer Imam Hossain of Mirsharai fire service.

It took officials three hours to remove the totalled vehicle from the tracks and resume Dhaka-Chattogram train services, officials said.

A WITNESS ACCOUNT

Kalim Uddin, who was travelling in the locomotive, said it was raining at the time and he saw the HiAce moving a bit slowly towards the tracks and get hit by the train.

The train driver managed to stop the train around a kilometre from the level crossing, he added.

He added that the barrier on the side from which the vehicle was coming was not lowered.

BR PROBE COMMITTEE

Bangladesh Railway yesterday formed a five-member probe committee to find out the cause of the accident.

Ansar Ali, divisional transport officer (east zone) of the BR, is the convener of the committee, which was asked to submit its report in seven work days.

[Mohammad Suman and Sifayet Ullah contributed to the report.]