Police have said that the train-bus collision, which killed at least 12 people, at Puranapoil area of Joypurhat Sadar Upazila took place as the gateman of the respective rail crossing failed to close the gate for traffic on time.
Joypurhat Superintendent of Police (SP) Md Salam Kabir said the suspected gateman has been on the run since the incident on Saturday morning, and police suspect that he was sleeping while on duty, which led to the mishap.
A bus coming from Hili, Dinajpur, collided with the train Uttara Express, which started from Parbatipur upazila, Dinajpur, at 6:55am Saturday. The train dragged the bus on the tracks for about half a kilometre.
Also read- Train-bus collision kills 12 in Joypurhat
Ten people died on the spot while five others were severely injured and sent to Joypurhat Modern Hospital. Upon their condition deteriorating, they were taken to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital in Bogra where two of them died.
Train communications with the northern regions have been suspended due to the accident.
Rail communication with the western side of the country has been halted since the accident. Rescue trains arrived at the scene to normalize rail communication.
