14 killed, 98 injured in road accidents

BDNEWS adds: Six people were killed and 70 others injured when five motor vehicles collided at Taltola on the Ashulia-Tongi road at about 5:00pm yesterday.

Witnesses said a passenger-laden Maxi fell into a ditch when a bus hit it and three other vehicles, including a car, also rammed the bus.

The driver of the human hauler and three others died on the spot while two others succumbed to their injuries at local hospitals and clinics.

The identity of the dead could not be known immediately.

The other vehicles were also damaged seriously. The road accident disrupted communications on the highway leading to a severe traffic jam.

Police and locals said the injured were rushed to different local hospitals and clinics, and several others to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

Meanwhile, a truck driver was crushed under the wheels of a truck at Postagola under Shyampur Police Station early yesterday.

Police said a speeding truck ran over Babul, 30, son of Gani Khan, when he was crossing the road near Islami Bank at about 5:30am.

The body was sent to Mitford Hospital for autopsy

Meanwhile, a child was killed when a human hauler ran over him at Monu Bepari Dhal area of Jinjira in Keraniganj yesterday morning.

The deceased was identified as Azhar Islam,7, son of Ibrahim of Monu Bepari area.

Witnesses said a Kholamora-bound human hauler coming from Nayabazar at around 9:00am hit the child leaving him dead on the spot.

Another report from Manikganj adds: At least 20 Ijtema devotees were injured early yesterday in a road accident on the Dhaka-Aricha highway at Uthli in Manikganj.

Witnesses said the accident occurred when an Ijtema-bound bus carrying 60 devotees collided with a truck.

The injured were rushed to the Manikganj Sadar Hospital and Uthli Health Complex.

Our STAFF CORRESPONDENT from Sylhet reports: At least six people were killed in separate road accidents in Sylhet yesterday. Of them, three people were killed as a speeding truck collided with an auto-rickshaw from opposite direction on Sylhet-Badaghat road at about 9-30am.

The dead was identified as auto-rickshaw driver Abdul Jalil, 25, of village Kumargaon and passengers -- Kawsar Ahmed, 26, of village Shiberbazar and Nazir Ahmed, 28, of village Noapara under Sylhet Sadar upazila.

Police seized the truck and the auto-rickshaw. The locals put up a barricade on the road for about two hours following the accident. The police later cleared the road. The truck driver managed escape.

Three others were killed and eight others injured in a separate road accident when a Sylhet-bound speedy bus from Habiganj collided with a truck at Suargaon on Dhaka-Sylhet Highway.

The dead were identified as Sohel Ahmed, 25, of village Kazirgaon of Biswanath upazila, Sirajul Islam, 45, a gatekeeper of private bank at Tajpur and an unidentified man aged about 45 years, local people said.

The injured were rushed to the Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital in critical condition.