Buses Collide Head-on
16 killed, 50 hurt
Punctured tyre of luxury bus leads to crash; drivers said to be dead
At least 16 people were killed and 50 others injured when a luxury bus collided head-on with a local passenger bus at Shibpur in Narsingdi yesterday.
The death toll may rise, as some of the injured were in critical condition, doctors said.
Witnesses said a Sylhet-bound Volvo bus of Shohagh Paribahan crashed into a local bus headed for Narsingdi around 10:00am at Amtola in BSCIC industrial area.
The accident happened as the Volvo bus driver lost control over the steering after a tyre of the bus got punctured, Bijoy Bashak, additional superintendent of police, told The Daily Star.
It was raining heavily when the accident occurred, said Jamil Ahmed, a passenger of the luxury bus who was badly injured.
Nine people, including the helper of the Volvo bus, died on the spot. Four others succumbed to their injuries at Narsingdi district hospital and three others at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).
Owners of the two buses claimed that both the drivers are also among the dead but The Daily Star could not independently verify that.
Thirteen of the dead are bus helper Abdul Majid, 42, national sales executive of Transcom Distribution Company Ltd Azharul Amin, 32, chainman of Directorate of Land Record and Survey Md Ali, 45, Shahnaz Akter Bakul, 30, Ataur Rahman Atique, 32, Tapan Debnath, 45, Sonia Begum, 30, her son Mahim, eight, Amir Hossain, 33, Mojibur Rahman, 24, Harun, 30, Mozammel Haque, 45, and Sohel Mia, 26.
The three others could not be immediately identified.
Thirty of the injured were admitted to Narsingdi district hospital from where 12 were shifted to DMCH as their condition worsened.
The accident halted movement of vehicles on the highway for nearly one and a half hours, creating a five-km-long traffic jam, said Fakrul Islam, officer-in-charge of Shibpur Police Station.
Traffic movement resumed around 11:30am after both the badly-damaged buses were removed from the road by wreckers, the OC added.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed deep shock at the loss of lives, and directed the authorities concerned to ensure proper treatment of the injured.
Number of road accidents has risen in recent months. At least 17 people were killed and more than 20 others injured when a passenger bus collided head-on with a lorry at Shajahanpur in Bogra last week.
Earlier on July 11, at least 40 school and college students died after the truck carrying them plunged into a roadside ditch at Mirsarai in Chittagong.
Courtesy of The Daily Star
