A Fire Service and Civil Defence official has said that passengers who were seated on the front portion of the bus that fell into a ditch on Sunday morning lost more lives.
“The bus had a total of 54 seats, and some passengers were also sitting on the front engine cover. Among them, those who sat in the front rows have died,” said Shiplu Ahmed, deputy assistant director of Faridpur Fire Service and Civil Dence.
The official said the bus was carrying at least 60 passengers, and almost all the passengers were injured in the incident.
“After receiving the news, we reached the spot and recovered 14 bodies. We handed over the bodies to the police. I learned that three more people died after being taken to the hospital,” the fire service official said.
Three fire service units are working still working at the spot, he added.
The death toll from an accident in the Kutubpur area in Shibchar upazila of Madaripur has risen to 19.
At least 30 people were injured after a Dhaka-bound bus veered off the approach road to the Padma Bridge and crashed into a ditch on Sunday morning.
Several reports claim that the driver of the Emad Paribahan bus lost control of the vehicle, causing it to roll into the ditch.