13 killed in road, railway accidents

At least 13 people have been killed and 34 others injured in separate road and train accidents in seven districts since Tuesday afternoon.

A 35-year-old unidentified man was run over by a lorry of Korotoa Courier Service in the capital's Paltan area around 9:15pm yesterday.

Mahmudul Haque, officer-in-charge of Paltan Police Station, said the man was crossing a road near Paltan intersection around 9:15pm when a speeding lorry hit him.

The man died on the spot, he said, adding police detained the driver and seized the vehicle immediately after the incident.

The accident took place just a day after a university student was run over by an unruly bus of Suprabhat Paribahan which was reportedly on a mad race.

In another road accident in Sirajganj, at least three more people were killed and 10 others injured at the west end of the district's Bangabandhu Bridge as two buses collided head-on around 5:00pm yesterday.

Sayed Shahid Alam, officer-in-charge of Bangabandhu Bridge West Zone Police Station, said none of the three victims -- two male and a female -- could be immediately identified.

The accident occurred as drivers lost control over the steering wheels, he added.

A long tailback was created due to slow vehicle movements on the bridge and its adjacent roads for about two hours after the accident.

The bodies were kept in police custody, said the OC, adding that a case would be filed in this connection.

The injured were admitted to different nearby hospitals.

Meanwhile in Chattogram, two people were killed in separate train accidents in Sadar and Sitakunda upazilas.

None of the victims could be identified, police said.

Jakir Hossain, in-charge of Sholoshahar Station Railway Police Outpost, said a 13-year-old boy was sleeping on the door of a running Dohazari-bound local train and suddenly fell off around 11:30am in Jhaowtola area of Sadar upazila.

He died on the spot, the IC added.

Besides, another unknown person, aged around 27, was found critically injured near the rail tracks in Kadam Rasul area of Sitakunda upazila after he was hit by a train around 12:30am.

Locals rushed him to Chittagong Medical College Hospital where doctors later declared him dead, police said.

In Gaibandha, a school girl was killed as a truck rammed her bicycle in Chhatiantola bazar area on Gaibandha-Sundarganj highway of Sundarganj upazila yesterday afternoon. Her pillion rider sustained severe injuries.

The dead is Sumi Akhter, 15, a ninth grader at Karunamayee Girls High School, and the injured is Shahnaz Akhter, a ninth grader at Katgora High School.

SM Abdur Sobhan, officer-in-charge of Sundarganj Police Station, said the body was handed over to family members following legal procedures and the injured was sent to Rangpur Medical College Hospital.

In a similar accident, a sixth grader student in Jashore lost her right leg yesterday.

The sixth grader Nipa Khatun and her schoolmates became victims of a road accident as a pickup van rammed into their school van in Jashore's Sharsha upazila, said witnesses.

According to them, doctors dismembered the right leg of Nipa after she was rushed to a local hospital.

Two other students -- Rina Khatun, 12, and Saleha Khatun, 13 -- were also injured in the accident.

Mashiur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Sharsha Police Station, said agitated people set the pickup van on fire and blocked Benapole-Jashore highway following the accident.

Elsewhere, three people were killed and 20 others injured in two separate accidents in Natore on Tuesday.

The dead are Rony Ahmed, 17, Zorip Sheikh, 38, and Saidur Rahman, 45.

According to witnesses, a pickup van overturned besides a road at Gurudaspur upazila around 8:00pm on Tuesday, leaving Rony and Zorip dead on the spot and 20 others injured in Guruadspur upazila of the district.

In a separate incident, a truck rammed into a motorbike near Gol-e-Afraz Government College in Singra municipality area around 5:00pm on Tuesday, leaving the motorbike rider Saidur injured.

Later, the victim was rushed to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

In Gopalganj, three people were killed as their motorbike was hit by a train at Bhennabari level crossing in Sadar upazila around 11:40pm on Tuesday.

The dead are Raju Shikdar, 25, Tanvir Chowdhury Rocky, 19, and Lebu Mollah, 25.

A local train from Rajshahi hit the motorbike at night while the motorcyclists were trying to cross the level crossing, police said quoting witnesses, adding that all the victims died on the spot.

Our Benapole, Faridpur, Gaibandha, Natore, and Pabna correspondents contributed to this report.