Our Sylhet correspondent reports: Five people were killed and over 80 others injured, 12 of them critically, when a passenger bus lost its control and fell into a roadside ditch near Kanakpur village under Sadar upazila of Moulvibazar district on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway early yesterday.

The driver was recklessly driving the Sylhet-bound overloaded bus from Netrokona, injured passengers said.

The dead are Mujibur Rahman, 45, a palli chikitshak (rural medical practitioner) hailing from Jagannathpur upazila of Sunamganj district, Kuddus Miah, 45, son of Ashrab Ali, Ratan Miah, 32, son of Babar Ali, and Tanjir Miah, 22, son of Siddique Miah, all from village Mubarakpur in Atpara upazila of Netrokona district and another unidentified person.

Twelve critically injured people were sent to MAG Osmani Medical College and Hospital in Sylhet and forty-six were admitted to Moulvibazar Sadar Hospital.

Fire service people from Moulvibazar and Srimongol and ambulance from Moulvibazar Sadar Hospital rushed to the spot to rescue the victims.

Moulvibazar Municipality Chairman Foyzul Karim arranged sending the bodies to their village homes in Netrokona and distributed Tk 6000 to the injured people, most of whom are labourers.

Two young men were killed and over 30 injured as a passenger bus collided head-on with a truck near Madhabpur upazila headquarters under Habiganj district on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway at about 3:40am. Both the vehicles skidded off the road and fell into a 20 feet deep canal.

The dead are Hanif Miah, son of Kalim Uddin of village Kalikaprasad in Bhairab Upazila of Kishoreganj district and Ershad Miah, 20, son of Imarat Miah of Nagarkanda upazila of Faridpur district.

Fayez Uddin, 80, and Faruque Miah, 35, were rushed to MAG Osmani Medical College and Hospital in Sylhet while 28 others were admitted into the Madhabpur Upazila Health Complex.

Our correspondent adds: Two people were killed in road accidents in Sutrapur and Demra in the capital yesterday.

Amirul Islam, 35, a rickshaw-puller, was killed as a speedy truck ran over him in front of the Rajdhani Super Market in Sutrapur at around 5-30am. Police sent the body to the Mitford Hospital morgue for autopsy.

Amirul, a resident of Sutrapur area, hailed from Fulbari in Sirajganj district.

A speeding truck killed an unidentified youth, aged about 30, when he was crossing a road in Demra area.

Demra police recovered the body and sent to the Mitford Hospital morgue for autopsy.

UNB adds from Brahmanbaria: Two people were killed and 30 others injured in a head-on collision between a bus and truck at Satbarga in Sadar upazila on Dhaka-Sylhet highway early yesterday.

The dead are identified as Hafiz Mia, 30, of village Kalikaprasad in Kishoreganj district and Ershad Mia, 20, of village Kasail in Nagarkanda Upazila of Faridpur district.

Police and local people said a Sylhet-bound passenger bus collided with a speeding truck coming from the opposite direction, killing the two people on the spot and injuring others.

The injured were admitted to Madhabpur Hospital.

The drivers and helpers of the bus and truck fled, leaving their vehicles.