One person was killed and 15 others were injured when a train rammed a minibus at Ispahani rail crossing gate in AK Khan area of Chittagong city yesterday.
The deceased could not be identified when the body was sent to Chittagong Medical College morgue for autopsy, said Officer-in-Charge of Chittagong railway station police outpost Himangshu Das Rana.
He said it could not be known whether the dead was a passenger of the train or the minibus.
Of the injured, Md Abul Hashem, 60, and Mahbubul Alam, 50, were admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital, said Nayek of the hospital’s police outpost Jahangir Alam. Two others were admitted to a local clinic.
OC Himangshu said the accident took place when Chittagong-bound Meghna Express travelling from Chandpur ploughed into a minibus around 11:15am.
Md Sabuj, who was on the minibus, said the driver was crossing the rail tracks when the vehicle suddenly stopped.
“There were 15-20 passengers on the bus. When the train whistled, the driver jumped out of the window while the passengers also tried to get off,” said Sabuj, who sustained critical injuries in his left leg and was admitted to Al Amin Hospital.
Gateman of the level crossing Md Kawsar said officials at Pahartali station informed him of only Dhaka-bound Karnaphuli Express and he closed only one gate while the other remained open.
“Meghna Express was on the down line after the departure of Karnaphuli Express, and hit the minibus which was standing on the track,” he said.
A five-member committee headed by Bangladesh Railway (east) Divisional Traffic Officer Firoz Iftekhar was formed to probe the accident and it was asked to submit a report within three days.
Firoz said an investigation into what caused the accident was underway while a case was also filed in this connection.
On March 11 last year, four female garment workers were killed and seven others were injured when a train rammed a human haulier in Chandgaon of the city.
