Cruelly cut before they could bloom

Two schoolbags on the ground by rail tracks. The body of a schoolgirl in her uniform. Broken tiffin boxes, food strewn over the stones, and a textbook right next to them.

These were the scenes as panicked locals rushed to help after a train hit three schoolchildren on the tracks near Bijoypur market in Cumilla Sadar Dakshin upazila around 11:40am yesterday.

The three little ones -- class-5 studentsof Bijoypur Primary School -- were killed on the spot. One of them was dragged nearly 300 metres by the Chattogram-bound train.

The accident happened around 150 metres off a level crossing along the Dhaka-Chattogram double-line tracks in Bijoypur.

Deceased Mim Akhtar, Rima Akhtar, and Tasfia Akhtar Ayesa -- aged around 12 -- lived in Durgapur Manikka Pukurpar area near the Bijoypur market.

They had left home only a few minutes before the incident. Like every other day, they were on their way to school, which is a 10-minute walk from their homes, through a narrow alley by the market.

Shopkeeper Hazi Selim, a witness, said after the girls saw an oncoming train on one of the tracks, they moved to the other, oblivious to another train approaching fast on it. "It seemed they were puzzled and became frozen in place after noticing the train at the very last moment," he told The Daily Star.

The Chattogram-bound train, Mohanagar Provati, hit and dragged Tasfia, who was standing between the two others when the train hit them. Mim and Rima were thrown clear of the tracks upon impact,said witnesses.

After the incident, angry locals set fire on the tracks in protest. They also blocked the Cumilla-Noakhali highway, demanding an overpass in the level crossing area.

They left around half an hour later after officials from the district administration and police talked to them.

Deputy Commissioner Kamrul Hasan handed Tk 25,000 to the families of each of the victims. A committee was also formed to investigate the matter.

Asked, Jahangir Hossain, general manager (east) of Bangladesh Railway, said, "It's a very tragic incident. Perhaps they [the girls] did not realise the looming danger."

He also said the accident spot was quite far away from the level crossing gates.

After the bodies were taken to Manikka Pukurpar area, a pall of gloom descended on it. The air became heavy with cries and wails.

"How can you leave me so soon, maa?" Tasfia's mother Rozina Akhtar kept wailing. Tasfia, who was second among three siblings, lived in her grandparent's home. Her father Bhulu Mir works in Oman.

Mim's mother Rupa Akhtar was numb with grief. Mim was Rupa's eldest. Mim's father has physical disabilities and cannot work.

The victims' namaz-e-janaza was held at Bijoypur Bazar later in the day. Mim and Rima were buried at their village homes while Tasfia was laid to rest in the graveyard of their ancestral home.

Accidents on the rail tracks are quite common in the country mainly due to unprotected level crossings, poor conditions of the tracks and a lack of safety awareness among people.

According to a report of Accident Research Institute of Buet, at least 105 people were killed in 99 rail-related accidents last year.

The actual number could  be higher as many incidents go unreported.

Of the 105, 82 were pedestrians, said the report, which was prepared based on media reports. Twenty-two people were killed at  level crossings,it said.

People's lack of awareness while crossing rail tracks is one of the main reasons behind the fatalities, according to ARI.