Racing buses end the tale of two sisters

Like any other day, Tasnim Jahan Irene and her sister Nusrat Jahan Zerin were heading to their office – Next Venture – in the capital's Uttar Badda in an auto-rickshaw from Mirpur.

They reached the area around 9:15am and were about to cross Pragati Sarani, one of Dhaka's busiest thoroughfares.

Notably, there were no footbridges nearby.

Around the same time, two Akash Paribahan buses were racing in their desperation to overtake each other to get more passengers.

Suddenly, one bus slammed into the other and then ran over both the sisters, witnesses said.

Irene, a business development executive, died on the spot. Her life, full of promise, was cruelly snatched away in the blink of an eye.

Zerin, a staffer of the same institution, survived narrowly with injuries to her legs. She was taken to a nearby hospital.

"The two sisters lived and worked together… But one reckless driver tore them apart," said Saima Sultana, the victims' sister-in-law, her voice heavy with grief as she spoke to The Daily Star.

Family members shared that Irene, a former student of Shahjalal University of Science & Technology, joined the IT firm first and her elder sister soon followed in her footsteps.

"The two buses were racing for quite some time. They hit each other at least three times before one of the buses, whose registration number was Dhaka Metro-Ba 130189, ran over the sisters," Anika Tabassum, a student and passenger of the other bus, told The Daily Star.

"The girl was killed due to the reckless driving of the buses. Irene was stuck under the wheels of one."

Anika too hurt her neck when the two buses struck each other during their race.

Fatema Siddika, sub-inspector of Badda Police Station, said the accident occurred due to the buses racing.

Saiful Islam, officer-in-charge of the station, said both the buses were seized.

The driver and helper had fled immediately after the accident. But police later arrested driver Milon Hossain Mintu, 50, during a raid in Madhya Badda area in the afternoon, he said.

The process of filing a case was underway.