10 killed in five road accidents across country

At least 10 people were killed and 17 others injured in five separate road accidents across the country from Thursday night to Friday afternoon. The accidents occurred in Gazipur, Cox’s Bazar, Pabna, Khagrachhari and Faridpur, involving motorcycles, an auto-rickshaw, a bus, an ambulance and a covered van.

In Faridpur, three people were killed and four others injured in a head-on collision between a bus and an ambulance on the Dhaka-Khulna highway in Madhukhali upazila around 2:30pm on Friday. Shamim Reza, station officer of Madhukhali Fire Service, said the Magura-bound ambulance collided with a local ‘Kingfisher Paribahan’ bus coming from Magura in the Arkandi area. Three ambulance passengers died at the scene. Police and fire service personnel conducted rescue operations, but the victims’ identities could not immediately be confirmed, Shamim added.

Earlier in Khagrachhari, a 12-year-old girl was killed and four others injured when a CNG-run auto-rickshaw went off the road after its front wheel came off at 8:30am on Friday in Panchhari upazila.

Panchhari Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Ferdous Wahid confirmed the information, saying the accident occurred on the Latiban Principal Para road while the vehicle was travelling from Panchhari towards Khagrachhari district headquarters.

The deceased, Tania Akter, was the daughter of Md Anwar Hossain of the Puratan Bornal area. Her mother Daisy Akter, 35, sister Ankhi Akter, 17, and BGB Naib Subedar Abdur Razzak were among the injured. The auto-rickshaw went out of control after its front wheel came off and veered off the road. Tania died on the spot, while the driver fled after the accident.

Razzak received primary treatment at a BGB hospital before being transferred to Shaheed Mamunur Rahman BGB Hospital in Guimara. The other injured passengers are receiving treatment at Panchhari Upazila Health Complex. Legal proceedings were underway, the OC added.

In Gazipur, a police sub-inspector (SI) and a local BNP leader were killed when a covered van ran over them as a police team returned to Kaliganj Police Station after arresting a suspected drug dealer early Friday.

The accident took place in front of Kaliganj Government Shramik College on the Kaliganj-Ghorashal bypass road at 3am.

The deceased were SI Mizanur Rahman, 30, and Rafiqul Islam Mollah, 45, organising secretary of the BNP’s ward-2 unit in Tumulia Union. SI Jabed Omar, 28, was critically injured, while driver Rabbi, 28, sustained minor injuries.

Police took four injured people to Kaliganj Upazila Health Complex around 3:50am. Doctors declared Rafiqul dead there. Mizanur and Jabed were referred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where Mizanur died at 6:47am. Jabed remains under treatment, while Rabbi received primary care. Kaliganj OC Mohammad Zakir Hossain said police were trying to identify the vehicle involved and would take legal action.

Meanwhile, two pickup passengers died after a vegetable-carrying pickup collided head-on with a Shyamoli NR Paribahan bus in Chakaria, Cox’s Bazar, around 12:30am on Friday. The crash occurred in Khutakhali Union’s Noyapara Sabuj Pahar area. 

The deceased were Abdullah, 27, of South Hnila in Teknaf, and Muhammad Yasin, 25, of Rampur in Chakaria.

The pickup was heading towards Cox’s Bazar from Chakaria when it collided with the Chattogram-bound bus.

Highway police and locals took the victims to Chakaria Upazila Health Complex, where doctors declared them dead.

Malumghat Highway police station OC SI Selim Mia said both had severe head and other bodily injuries. Legal proceedings were underway.

On Thursday night, two motorcyclists died and two others were injured in a collision between two speeding motorcycles near Jalalpur Bazar in Pabna’s Gayeshpur Union around 8pm. The deceased were Nayan Mia, 20, son of Abdul Matin Mridha of Shalaipur, and Selim Mahmud, 40, son of late Mozzafar Hossain of Jalalpur, who sold fish at the local market.

The victims died at the scene. The injured were taken to Pabna General Hospital, with one later transferred to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital after his condition worsened. Pabna Sadar Police Station SI Monirul Islam said police recovered the bodies for handover to relatives after legal formalities.

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