Road crashes kill 18 in 3 districts
From 2017 to 2019, more than 11,000 road accidents took over 15,000 lives across the country, according to Nirapad Sarak Chai
At least 18 people were killed and seven more were injured in three separate road crashes in Brahmanbaria, Habiganj and Mymensingh on Friday.
In Habiganj, nine people were killed and three others injured as a microbus crashed into a roadside tree at Tanvirgaon area of Nabiganj upazila on Friday morning.
Seven of the deceased were identified as Rajib, Asma, Abbas Uddin, Mohsin, Emon Khan, Rabbi and Sumona.
Officer-in-Charge of Sherpur Highway Police Station Ershadul Haq Bhuiyan said the passengers were going to Dirai upazila of Sunamganj from Pagla upazila of Narayanganj to fix a wedding. The accident occurred as the driver lost control over the steering.
The injured were taken to Sylhet Osmani Medical College and Hospital. Eight passengers died on the spot and one named Sumona succumbed to her injuries in the hospital, he added.
Meanwhile in Brahmanbaria, six people were killed and four sustained injuries as a bus collided head-on with a microbus in Vati Kalisima area of Bijaynagar upazila on Dhaka-Sylhet Highway at around 02:30am.
The microbus caught fire due to the explosion of its gas cylinder after the collision.
The deceased were identified as Shakil (25), Sohan (20), Sagar (22), Emon (19), Rifat (16) and Harun (40).
The other injured were Shahin (30), Zishan (24), Abir (19) and Bijoy (19). All the victims hailed from different areas of Bandar upazila of Narayanganj.
It was not possible for the bystanders to rescue the passengers inside the microbus due to the devastation of the fire. Later, firefighters doused the blaze and recovered five dead bodies from the microbus, said police.
The injured were rushed to Brahmanbaria Sadar Hospital and one of them died on the way to the hospital.
In Mymensingh, three people died during a head-on collision between a truck and a pickup van at Meherabari area of Valuka upazila early Friday.
The deceased were identified as truck driver Rajon Robidas (40) from Netrokona, pickup helper Azim Uddin (30) from Narayanganj, and Robi Ullah (45) from Narayanganj.
Valuka highway police said two persons died on the spot, and Robi Ullah died on the way to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital.
According to the annual report of Nirapad Sarak Chai, a Bangladeshi movement demanding safe roads, accidents mostly occur for uneducated and unskilled drivers, faulty vehicles and roads, poor traffic management, callousness of pedestrians, lack of political will and poor enforcement of law.
The reports also found that, in 2019, the number of road accidents was 4,702 in which 5,227 people were killed.
In 2018, the number of road crashes was 3,103 that claimed 4,439 lives. In 2017, 3,349 accidents took place and 5,645 people lost their lives.
