11 killed in two separate road accidents in Mymensingh

At least 11 people were killed and several others injured in two separate road accidents in Mymensingh yesterday.

In the deadlier of the two, seven people were killed and eight others injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a human haulier in Phulpur upazila last night. One more victim later died at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital (MMCH) early today, raising the death toll from that accident to eight.

Police confirmed the identities of the deceased, all of whom were passengers of the human haulier. They were Kazim Uddin, 28, Rubel, 30, Farid Mia, 38, Hasina Khatun, 50, Johor Ali, 70, and Shamsuddin, 65. They died on the spot. Nayan Mia, 40, and Lal Mia, 36, died later at MMCH.

Quoting witnesses, Md Abdul Hadi, officer-in-charge of Phulpur Police Station, said the accident occurred around 8:45pm when a Mymensingh-bound bus collided with the human haulier in the Kaziakadna area on the Mymensingh-Haluaghat road.

Following the accident, angry locals set the bus on fire. Police and Fire Service and Civil Defence personnel reached the spot and brought the situation under control.

Phulpur Upazila Nirbahi Officer Sadia Islam said traffic remained halted on the road for more than an hour. She added that the scene of the accident had little lighting, the road was slippery due to rain, and a truck was parked on one side. The accident might have occurred as one of the vehicles was trying to pass the truck, she added.

In another accident earlier that day, two passengers of a CNG-run auto-rickshaw and its driver were killed, while three others suffered critical injuries, in a collision with an ambulance in the Kodaldhar area on the same highway in Tarakanda upazila around 6:00pm.

The victims were identified as auto-rickshaw driver Mohammad Alam, 35, and passengers Jobeda Khatun, 85, and schoolboy Rakibul Hasan, 15, said police.

Quoting locals, Md Tipu Sultan, officer-in-charge of Tarakanda Police Station, said the accident occurred when a Mymensingh-bound auto-rickshaw collided head-on with an ambulance, killing two on the spot and injuring four others. Md Alam later died at MMCH.

Police recovered the bodies and seized the vehicles. Separate cases have been filed with the respective police stations.