4 killed in road accident in Dhaka, Rajshahi

At least 4 people were killed on Wednesday in multiple road accidents in Dhaka and Rajshahi.

In Dhaka, a CNG-run autorickshaw driver was killed after his vehicle rammed into a bus in the capital’s Nilkhet area on Wednesday morning.

The deceased has been identified as Golam Mostofa, 45, from Rampura.

The accident took place when the auto-rickshaw hit the front wheel of the bus at the Nilkhet intersection in the capital. The bus was seized and the driver was detained by the police.

Inspector Bachchu Mia of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) police outpost said the driver of Thikana Paribahan bus, Jalal Mia, has been arrested from the DMCH area.

Detained driver Jalal Mia said he was travelling from Savar to Signboard area. At the intersection, he alleges that the auto-rickshaw collided with the bus and the bus fell forward. 

The police inspector added that after the collusion, he parked the bus and went to visit the auto-rickshaw driver in the hospital.

Mostofa was rushed to the emergency department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital in a critical condition, and was pronounced dead by the on-duty doctor. The body of the man has been kept at the DMCH morgue.

In Rajshahi, three people, including the CNG driver and two passengers, were killed in a head-on collision between a truck and CNG at Muralipur.

The deceased were passengers Abdus Sattar, 55, and his wife Ferdousi Begum, 48, and CNG-run autorickshaw driver, Ansar Ali, 40.

The CNG driver and the female passenger died on the spot and Abdus, who was critically injured, succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. 

The injured person rushed to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital by the fire service. Two died on the spot and one was unconscious. The incident took place at Muraripur in Paba upazila of Rajshahi around 2.30 pm on Wednesday (April 6).

Confirming the information to Dhaka Tribune, Rajshahi Fire Service and Civil Defence Senior Station Officer Abdur Rauf said three CNGs were going to the Rajshahi Medical College Hospital on Wednesday.

Upon receiving the news, a team of fire service led by him reached the spot and rescued the injured and took them to Ramek Hospital. 

Police later went to the spot and recovered the two bodies from the site. They were, however, not able to arrest the truck driver and helper as they fled the scene. However, efforts are being made to retrieve the truck involved in the accident, as well as the destroyed CNG.

Road accidents in Bangladesh

Road accidents in Bangladesh claim hundreds of lives every year.

At least 484 people were killed and 673 others injured in as many as 427 road accidents in January this year.

According to Road Safety Foundation (RSF), the accident rate increased by 25.58% while fatalities rose by 8.76% in January compared to the same period last year.

At least 445 lives were lost in 340 road accidents in January 2020, according to RSF.

In a report released in February last year, the World Bank said Bangladesh needs to invest an estimated US $7.8 billion over the next decade to halve its road crash fatalities.

The report attributed the high death rate on Bangladesh’s roads to a lack of investment in systemic, targeted, and sustained road safety programs.