At least twelve people were killed and another 54 were injured in separate road crashes in Gopalganj, Munshiganj, Pabna, and Tangail on Saturday.
In Gopalganj, eight people were killed in a three-vehicle crash between a bus, car and motorcycle on the Dhaka-Khulna Highway in Kashiani upazila at around 11am, said Sub-Inspector (SI) Shirajul Islam of Kashiani police station.
The deceased are Anik Sheikh, 28, his wife Jasmine Akhter, 27, Firoj Mollah, 50, Ruma Begun, 40, Basudeb Saha, 58, his wife Shibani Rani Saha, 46, their son Swapnil Saha, and private car driver Aziz Mia, 35.
According to locals, Basudeb Saha, a doctor at Bardem Hospital, was coming to Gopalganj in a private car in the morning with his wife and son to visit his sick mother.
On the other hand, Anik and his wife Jasmine were coming towards Gopalganj town on a motorcycle from Fukra area in Kashiani.
The incident took place when the private car collided with a motorcycle. At that time, a fast passenger bus of Rajib Paribahan from Patharghata in Barguna to Dhaka collided with a private car while trying to sideline another Nasimon.
Then the private car twisted and fell on the rice threshing machine on the side of the highway and the passenger bus hit the tree and overturned on the road.
The crash left the victims dead on the spot. Around 25 people were also injured during the incident.
Fire service personnel had taken the injured to local hospitals for treatment, SI Shirajul added.
Deputy Commissioner Shahida Sultana said the accident happened due to paddy threshing and speeding on the highway.
“The injured have been instructed to give serious treatment. The families of the victims will be given Tk10,000 each and the injured will be given Tk5,000 each by the district administration for treatment,” she added.
The bodies of the deceased are under police custody in Gopalganj General Hospital.
In Munshiganj, two teenagers were killed and another was injured after their car fell into a ditch in Tongibari upazila’s Pura Bazar area at around 4am.
The deceased are 19-year-olds Jisan and Fahim. Zahid Hasan, 16, was severely injured in the incident.
The three friends were going home after celebrating another friend's birthday.
Jisan had been the one driving the car, said Tongibari police station Officer-in-Charge Mollah Soheb.
He lost control of the vehicle on an under-construction bridge in the area and it fell into a 20-foot ditch. “Jisan’s family said he had no experience driving a car,” OC Mollah added.
The bodies were kept at Munshiganj General Hospital, while Zisan was sent home after treatment.
At least 543 people were killed in 427 road accidents last month, according to a report by Road Safety Foundation.
In Pabna, a businessman was killed and another injured after being hit by a locally made three wheeler on Dashuria-Kushtia highway in the morning.
The deceased was Abdur Rahman, confirmed Pakshi Highway police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Ashish Kumar.
In Tangail, a driver was killed when two buses were in a head-on collision at Madhupur upazila on Saturday.
At least 27 people were injured in the incident that took place in Gangair area of the upazila on Tangail-Mymensingh road.
The deceased was identified as Shamim, 45, a resident of the sadar upazila.
In this regard, Madhupur police station Sub-Inspector Mamunur Rashid said that a Mymensingh-bound bus of Prantik Paribahan leaving from Tangail reached the Gangair area of the upazila and collided head-on with another Tangail-bound bus of Mahi Paribahan leaving from Jamlapur.
Both buses were severely damaged in the collision.
After the accident, locals, police and firefighters rescued the injured and sent them to the Upazila Health Complex.
Later, ten seriously injured people were sent to Tangail and Mymensingh Medical College Hospitals.
Shamim, a driver of Prantik Paribahan, died at Tangail General Hospital while undergoing treatment.
Our Munshiganj correspondent Shamima Rita, Gopalganj correspondent Manoj Saha, Pabna correspondent Imroze Khandaker Bappi, and Tangail correspondent Abdullah Al Numan contributed to this report
