At least five people were killed and 31 others injured when a passenger-laden truck fell into a ditch in Kalihati upazila of Tangail early today.

Identities of the deceased, among a group of workers who were going to Habiganj from Gaibandha by the truck, could not be known immediately, reports our Tangail correspondent quoting Arif Ahmed, officer-in-charge (investigation) of Kalihati Police Station.

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Road Crashes: Tragedies on for inaction

The driver of the truck lost control over the steering while overtaking an auto-rickshaw and fell into a ditch near Kalihati Bus Stand around 5:30am, the police official said.

Four of the passengers were pronounced dead after being taken to the hospital.

While one of the injured succumbed to his injuries later, the official said.

After the accident, police with the help of local people rushed the injured to the Tangail General Hospital, he said.

Of the injured, three critically injured were referred to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, hospital sources told the correspondent. 

According to police report, 874 people were killed and 489 injured in 848 road accidents in the first four months of this year. Last year, 2,513 people were killed while the number was 2,463 in 2016.

But road safety campaigners and experts say the number would be much higher because police count the deaths only when cases are filed.

According to Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, 2,123 people were killed and 5,558 others injured in 1,871 road accidents from January to April.

And 7,397 people got killed, 16,193 injured in 4,979 road accidents last year.

On Saturday alone, a total of 52 people were killed, including the 18 victims in Palashbari. This is the highest number of casualties in a single day in recent times, according to the Samity.