Road accidents claim 14 lives in 4 districts

At least 14 people were killed and six others injured in road accidents in four districts yesterday.

Quoting witnesses and locals, police said two accidents took place in Barguna and Sylhet apparently due to poor visibility amid rain while the two others happened in Lalmonirhat and Chapainawabganj for reckless driving. 

In Barguna, seven people, including a child, were killed and three others injured as a bus and a three-wheeler, locally known as Mahindra, collided head-on on Patuakhali-Kuakata road around 11:00am.

The accident took place in Amtali upazila's Manikjhri area, reports our Patuakhali correspondent.

Of the victims, six died on the spot while another at a hospital.

The bus was heading to Patuakhali from Kuakata while the three wheeler was going to Taltali from Amtali, said Nurul Islam Badal, officer-in-charge of Amtali Police Station.

The deceased were identified as Salma Akhter Popi, 30, assistant teacher of Tarikata Government Primary School in Amtali, Sanu Mridha, 70, and Chan Mia, 48, both from Borobogi village, Rustam Ali, 36, of Chaula village, Abul Hossain Fakir, 65, of Botipara, four-month-old Oli Ullah and driver of the three-wheeler Abu Hanif, 45. 

Hanif died at Patuakhali General Hospital, said Sankar Prasad Odhikari, the health officer in Amtali.

Two of the injured, Fahima Akhter, 30, mother of Oli Ullah, and Jasim Uddin, were admitted to the hospital as their condition was stated to be critical, he added.

Fire fighters brought the bodies to Amtali Health Complex from the spot.

OC Badal said they also visited the spot which is prone to accidents amid rain due to poor visibility.

“We have seized the bus but its drive and the helper managed to flee,” he said.

In Sylhet, five people, including a child and a woman, were killed and three others injured in a head-on collision between a truck and a microbus on Dhaka-Sylhet highway's Ilaspur area of Osmaninagar upazila.

Four of the victims died on the spot while the other at Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, reports our Sylhet correspondent. Of the deceased, only the name of the driver of the microbus could be known immediately. He was Amir Ali, 40.

Ali Mahmud, officer-in-charge of Osmaninagar Police Station, said the accident took place around 3:50pm apparently due to poor visibility amid heavy rain.

Police recovered the bodies and sent them to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College for autopsies, he said.

In Chapainawabganj, a biker was killed after a truck hit his motorcycle on Chapainawabganj-Sonamasjid Land Port highway in Shantibag area around 8:45am.

The deceased was identified as Abdul Hannan, a peon at Chhatrajitpur union land office in Shibganj upazila, reports our Chapainawabganj correspondent.

Sirajuddin, sub-inspector of Chapainawabganj Sadar Police Station, said they seized the truck but its driver managed to flee.

In Lalmonirhat, a schoolboy was killed after a truck loaded with goods ran him over on Lalmonirhat-Burimari highway in Dhabalsuti area of Patgram upazila.

The boy was identified as Anisur Rahman, 7, son of Rezaul Karim of Dhabalsuti village in the upazila. He was a student of class two in Dhabalsuti Government Primary School, reports our Lalmonirhat correspondent.

Sazzad Hossain, OC of Patgram Police Station, said the schoolboy was killed on the spot when he was crossing the road around 9:20am.

The truck fled immediately after the incident, he said, adding they were trying to arrest the driver.