Road accidents kill 20 in six dists

Our staff correspondent in Sylhet reports: Seven people were killed and 50 others were injured when a bus skidded off Dhaka-Sylhet highway at Gazia Bazar near Sadipur and fell into a roadside ditch in the afternoon.

Among the dead are five pedestrians who were going to Gazia Bazar. Two others are driver and helper of the bus.

The Sherpur-bound bus was carrying about 60 people who were returning to their homes after visiting the shrine of Hazrat Shahjalal (RA) in Sylhet city, police said.

Among the injured, 22 people were admitted to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital and the remaining took first-aid from the Balaganj Upazila Health complex.

The dead were identified as driver Abdul Mannan, 38, Jamal Miah, 35, his son Lokman, 10, Junaed, 19, Surendra, 80, and Awlad, 38. Identity of the helper could not be known.

Our correspondent in Chittagong adds: Three people, including an official of RanksTel, were killed and 11 others injured in separate road accidents.

Sources said a Chittagong-bound coach collided head-on with a CNG autorickshaw in Mansar Tek area in Patiya at 8:30 pm on Thursday, leaving Mehedi Hasan Farazi, Chittagong area manager of RanksTel, and his friend Md Ali Bappi injured.

They were rushed to the Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) where Mehedi succumbed to his injuries at 6:00am yesterday.

In the other incident, two persons were killed and 10 others injured when a jeep locally know as 'Chander Gari' skidded off the road and fell into a roadside ditch at Bhutpura Sarak under Patiya upazila at around 10:00 pm on Thursday.

The dead were identified as Rabi Dey, 37, and Rishu Das, 40.

UNB adds: Four people were killed following a collision between two trucks at Ramnagar in Daganbhuiyan upazila of Feni district at around 6:00am yesterday.

Of the deceased, three were identified as Faruq, 25, son of Abdul Matin, Hashem Majhi, 35, and Abul Hossain, 40. The identity of another victim could not be known immediately.

Police and local sources said a brick-laden truck, with some 40 workers aboard, crashed into a roadside tree after it was hit by another truck coming from opposite direction.

Most of the workers, who were asleep on the brick-laden truck, fell to the ground under an avalanche of bricks that killed three people on the spot and injured 21 others, according to a spot report.

One of the critically injured died at Feni Sadar Hospital later.

The workers were returning home in Laxmipur after finishing their work on a brickfield in Chittagong.

In Natore, a bus swerved off Natore-Bogra Highway and fell into a roadside ditch in the afternoon, killing three people and injuring 25 others.

Police said the accident took place in Ajar Dargah area at about 2:30pm yesterday when the driver of the Bogra-bound bus tried to give side to another bus coming from opposite direction. An unidentified woman and a child died on the spot while seriously injured Zel Huq died at Singra Health Complex.

The injured were admitted to the Singra Health Complex and Natore Sadar Hospital.

UNB Sherpur correspondent reports: A mother and her her two-year-old daughter were crushed under the wheels of a truck at Sultanpur in sadar upazila yesterday afternoon.

The victims were identified as Fatema Begum, 28, wife of Afiruddin, and her daughter Buchhi Begum.

Police said the six-month pregnant Fatema and her daughter, along with their relatives, were going to Barduari Mosque mazar by rickshaws at about 1:00pm.

But the truck, coming from opposite direction, knocked a rickshaw, throwing Fatema and Buchhi onto the road.

"They both fell on the road and the truck ran over them," said one of their relatives.

In Magura, a person was killed when a pick-up van hit his motorcycle on Magura-Jessore road yesterday afternoon.

The dead was identified as Enamul Huq, 25.

Some 20,000 poultry birds, being carried in the van, were also killed in the accident that took place in Maghirdhal area.

According to the police, the Jessore-bound van from Dhaka first rammed the motorcycle and then fell into a roadside ditch.

Police recovered the body and arrested the pick-up van driver.