At least seven people were killed and three others injured when a truck carrying sacks of rice plunged into a roadside ditch on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway at Jorarganj area in Mirsarai upazila of Chittagong yesterday morning.
The dead – Kalam Mia, 45, Rubel, 25, Saidur Rahman, 40, Tipu, 45, Monir Uddin, 45, Md Alam, 30, and Azad, 25 – were day labourers, said Sub-Inspector (SI) Farid Uddin, In-Charge (IC) of Jorarganj Highway police outpost. Of them, five were from Naogaon and one was from Bagura, while the injured man could not be identified immediately, said the SI.
SI Farid Uddin also told the Dhaka Tribune: “The Chittagong-bound rice-laden truck, coming from Naogaon, plunged into a roadside ditch at Dakkhin Sonapahar area of Jorarganj around 5am, after the driver lost control over the steering wheel, killing on the spot the seven men who were sitting on the rice sacks.”
On information, police rushed to the scene and recovered the dead bodies and truck, while its driver and helper managed to escape after the incident, SI Farid added.
A case was filed in this connection.
