43 students killed as truck plunges into ditch; driver said to be talking on mobile, flees; nation in mourning
A truck packed with students crashed and flipped over into a ditch in Mirsarai upazila yesterday afternoon, killing at least 43 of them and injuring another 12.
Forty-one of the dead were schoolchildren and two college students. The deceased were aged between 10 and 18. They were returning home by the hired truck from watching a match of Bangabandhu Gold Cup Primary School Football Tournament in a stadium in the upazila.
The trucker lost control of the vehicle while giving way to a three-wheeler coming from the opposite direction on the link road between Abu Toarb Bazar and Borotakia around 12:45pm, police and witnesses said.
The tragedy unfolded near Mayani Bridge in the upazila, 65 kilometres from the port city of Chittagong.
A survivor, Emran, student of class X of Abu Torab Bohumukhi High School, said the accident happened after the trucker lost his focus on the road while talking on his cellphone. “The man did not listen to repeated warnings from us and kept talking on the phone,” he said.
Some other local residents alleged that the truck was overloaded and was driven by a helper, not the driver.
The trucker escaped after the accident and is being sought for arrest.
About 70 students were on the vehicle before it crashed. On its way back, the truck dropped off 10 students.
Six divers of Bangladesh Navy rushed to the scene and a fire-service wrecker was also pressed into the rescue operation. The health ministry instructed specialised doctors of Chittagong and Feni to rush to the spot for first aid.
The rescuers pulled 16 students from the wreckage and sent them to Chittagong Medical College Hospital. Doctors declared four of them dead.
Before the rescue team arrived, locals pulled out 24 bodies and rescued four students.
The bus was retrieved from the rainwater-filled ditch around 5:00pm and the rescue operation was called off around 7:00pm.
The students were mostly from Abu Torab Bohumukhi High School and also from Abu Torab Govt Primary School and Abu Torab Fazil Madrasa. Abu Torab Govt Primary School had a football match with Moghadia Anjumanunnesa Govt Primary School. The match ended around 11:30am.
Kabir Ahmad, president of the tournament and chairman of ward No. 13 of Mayani union, said the school authorities hired auto rickshaws for players and the truck for supporters for transportation.
Most of the bodies were gathered on the Abu Torab school premises. The bodies were handed over to families. A namaz-e-janaza was held there after Esha prayers. Primary and Mass Education Minister Afsarul Amin, deputy commissioner of Chittagong Foyez Ahmed and upazila Chairman Gias Uddin, among others, were present at the janaza.
The minister said a probe will be conducted into the accident.
The deputy commissioner announced a compensation of Tk 20,000 for each victim’s family from the primary and mass education ministry and Tk 5,000 from personal fund of the local lawmaker.
In separate messages, President Zillur Rahman, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia, Speaker of the parliament Abdul Hamid, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, Commu-nications Minister Syed Abul Hossain and Health Minister AFM Ruhal Haque expressed deep shock over the accident and conveyed condolences to the bereaved.
Unicef also condoled the deaths.
The president and the prime minister directed the authorities concerned to ensure proper treatment for the injured.
Deceased who were identified:
(aged between 10 and 18 yrs)
Saju Chandra Das, Iftekhar Uddin, Mohammad Ferdous, Nur Mohammad, Rajib, Arif, Reaz, Asif, Rony, Sakhawat, Nayan, Titu Das, Shuvo, Jahid, Sujan, Rupam, Rajib, Ananda, Saidul Islam, Shamsuddin, Mezbah Uddin, Saiful Islam, Shakhawat Hossain.
Injured who were identified:
(aged between 12 and 20 yrs)
Md Shuvo, Nazmul Huda, Kajol Chandra Nath, Jewel Barua, Raihan Uddin, Md Arif , Mithun Chandra Das, Pranta, Nayon Sheel, Polash Chakraborty, Muslim Uddin.
Courtesy of The Daily Star
