No fewer than 24 people were killed and several others injured in separate road accidents in eight districts of the country on Friday.
In Sylhet, eight people were killed and eighteen others injured in a head-on collision between two buses on the Dhaka-Sylhet Highway.
The deceased are Md Manjur Ali, 38, Jahangir Hossain, 30, Imran Khan Rumel, 48, Salman Khan, 28, Md Nurul Amin, 55, Nadim Ahmed Sagar, 20, Shah Kamal, 45, and Rahima, 30.
The accident took place in the Rashidpur area of the city around 7am when a bus of London Express collided with a bus of Ena Paribahan coming from the opposite direction, said Dakshin Surma police station Officer-in-Charge Md Monirul Islam.
Sylhet Fire Service and Civil Defence Deputy Director Kobad Ali Sarkar said four people died on the spot and four others succumbed to their injuries at MAG Osmani Medical College and Hospital.
The injured people were undergoing treatment at different hospitals, according to police.
In Bogra, two separate road crashes claimed the lives of six people on the day.
Three passengers of a CNG-run auto-rickshaw and its driver were killed as a bus hit the three-wheeler in Shajahanpur upazila.
Two of the deceased were identified as Kali Das, 72, and Shah Jamal, 34, Sudoy Kumar, 40, and Harez Mondal, 39.
Bogra Fire Service Senior Station Officer Bazlur Rashid said the accident took place in the Majhira area around 6am when a bus of Shaon Paribahan rammed the CNG-run auto-rickshaw from behind.
Three people died on the spot while another died on his way to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College and Hospital, he added.
Meanwhile, in the district’s Dupchanchia upazila, two people were killed as a truck rammed into an auto-rickshaw on the Bogra-Naogaon Highway.
Police identified the deceased as Abdur Rauf Russel, 33, and Muktar Hossain, 37.
Quoting witnesses, police said the accident occurred around 2pm. Locals took the auto-rickshaw driver and its passenger to the upazila health complex where the doctor on duty declared both of them dead.
In Barisal, a motorcycle rider and the person riding pillion were killed when the two-wheeler collided with a truck on the slope of Shaheed Abdur Rab Serniabat Bridge.
The deceased are Sharif Sheikh, 20, and Al Amin, 21.
The accident took place around 10am, said Barisal Metropolitan Police Sub-Inspector Sagir Hossain.
Sharif was pronounced dead on arrival at Sher-e-Bangla Medical College and Hospital, while Al Amin died while being taken to Dhaka for better treatment.
In Mymensingh, two people who were on a motorcycle died after the vehicle collided head-on with a truck in Dhobaura upazila.
The deceased are Jahid Hasan Russel, 32, and Shahidul Kaiser Rony, 34.
The accident occurred near Mekiarkanda Bazaar around 10:30am, according to police.
Jahid died on the spot while Shahidul was pronounced dead after he was taken to Haluaghat Upazila Health Complex.
The truck driver and his assistant were in police custody, said Dhobaura police station Inspector Chaad Miah.
In Jhenaidah, a man died and four others were injured in a collision between three motorcycles in Kaliganj upazila.
The deceased is Shimul Biswas, 40.
Members of the upazila fire service team dashed to the spot and took the four injured people to the upazila health complex. Later, three of the injured were shifted to Jessore General Hospital in critical conditions.
In Habiganj, a man was killed and three others injured in a head-on collision between an easybike and a bus on the Shayestaganj Highway.
Police identified the deceased as Abdur Rahman Sohag, 20, driver of the easybike.
Sohag died on the spot, said Shayestaganj police station OC Ajay Chandra Dev, before adding that the injured had been hospitalized.
In Comilla, two men were killed in separate incidents on Dhaka-Chittagong Highway in Chauddagram upazila.
Chauddagram police station SI Md Khokon said a pickup driver’s assistant, Monir Hossain died when a covered van hit the pickup in Amjader Bazar area on the highway.
Meanwhile, police recovered body of an unidentified man from Padua road area. Police suspect he was hit by an unidentified car and died on the spot.
In Cox’s Bazar, two men were killed and one was injured when a truck hit a motorcycle from behind on Cox’s Bazar-Chittagong Highway near Baniachhara area under Chakaria upazila.
The two deceased are Md Chhoton, 22 and Shamsul Alam, 20, confirmed SI Sirajul Islam, Chiringa Highway police outpost.
Increase in road accidents
At least 484 people were killed and 673 injured in 427 road accidents across Bangladesh in January this year, marking an alarming rise in such incidents.
According to the Road Safety Foundation (RSF), the accident rate rose by 25.58% and fatalities by 8.76% last month compared to the same time last year.
At least 445 lives were lost in 340 road accidents in January 2020.
Meanwhile, data gathered by Bangladesh Passengers’ Welfare Association said at least 6,686 people lost their lives and 8,600 were injured in a total of 4,891 road accidents in 2020.
Our correspondents Md Serajul Islam, Sylhet, Nazmul Huda Nasim, Bogra, Anisur Rahman Swapan, Barisal, Sultan Mahmud, Mymensingh, Nayan Khondoker, Jhenaidah, Masud Alam, Comilla, Abdul Aziz, Cox’s Bazar contributed in this report.
