Ten people including a woman and a child have been killed when a bus lost control and hit a tree on the Dhaka-Barisal highway.
The incident was reported from Bamrail union in Uzirpur upazila of Barisal around 5:30am on Sunday.
The deceased have been identified as Arafat Hossain Hawladar,9, Nazrul Islam Akon, 35, his wife, Anwara Begum, 23, Halim Mia 31, Sentu Mollah,50, Madhab Shil, 45, Ramzan Hawladar, 45, son of Abul Kashem Hawladar.
The three other bodies remained unidentified till the filing of this report at 8pm.
Uzirpur police OC Ali Arshad confirmed the matter to Dhaka Tribune.
A Jamuna Line Transport bus heading for Bhandaria lost control and hit a mahogany tree on the roadside at the Sanuhar area, he said.
Two units of Gournadi and Uzirpur fire service rushed to the spot and recovered the dead bodies and rescued the victims.
According to police, most of the victims were residents of Pirojpur, Barguna and Barisal.
Among the 25 injured, 14 are undergoing treatment at Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital and the rest are undergoing treatment at Gournadi Upazila Health Complex.
Shahidul Islam a nurse at Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Hospital said that at least three of the injured were in critical condition.
“We fear the death toll may rise,” said OC Arshad.
He said that the impact of the crash was severe and many of the deceased and injured had to be taken out after cutting into the body of the bus.
Probe committee formed
The Barisal district administration has formed a three-member committee to probe the tragic crash.
The committee will be headed by Additional District Magistrate Rakibur Rahman, confirmed Deputy Commissioner Jasimuddin Haider.
Moreover, Barisal Divisional Commissioner Aminul Ahsan announced that Tk20,000 will be allocated for the family of each of the deceased.
According to Muhammad Selim, one of the injured victims currently undergoing treatment, the driver was reckless with his driving despite requests from the passengers to go slow.