Man, son among 4 killed as bike, bus catch fire after collision

Ten people, including a man and his son, were killed and at least 53 others injured in road accidents in three districts yesterday and the day before, according to reports from our correspondents.

At least four people were burnt to death after a bus and a motorcycle caught fire following a collision in Daudkandi upazila of Cumilla yesterday.

The accident occurred around 12:40pm on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway in the Baniyapara area, said Daudkandi Highway Police Station Officer-in-Charge Iqbal Bahar Majumder.

Police identified three of the deceased as motorcycle rider Md Shamim, 41, his six-year-old son Nadim, both of Pennai Gouripur area of Daudkandi, and 18-month-old Hossain from Sonargaon upazila of Narayanganj. 

The identity of another victim, a woman, could not be confirmed immediately.

According to police, a speeding bus hit a motorcycle and a CNG-run auto-rickshaw before overturning onto the motorbike. Fuel leaking from the motorcycle triggered a fire that quickly spread to the bus.

Firefighters rushed to the scene, extinguished the blaze and recovered four bodies, said Ershad Ullah, in-charge of Daudkandi Fire Service and Civil Defence Station. 

Many bus passengers were injured in the accident.

Dr Habibur Rahman of Daudkandi Upazila Health Complex said 26 injured passengers received treatment there, while 12 were referred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Police seized the bus, but its driver fled the scene, the OC said.

In a separate incident in Cumilla, two bus passengers were killed and 12 others injured when a bus overturned in the Eliotganj area of the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway late Thursday night. 

The deceased were identified as male passengers, police said.

The accident occurred around 10:30pm when the Chattogram-bound bus lost control while taking a U-turn and collided with a Dhaka-bound microbus, said Eliotganj Highway Police Station in-charge Ruhul Amin.

In Munshiganj, one person was killed and at least 15 others injured after a bus rammed into the rear of a stationary truck on the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway in Sirajdikhan upazila early yesterday. 

The identity of the deceased could not be ascertained immediately, police said. Meanwhile, in Meherpur, a labourer named Humayun, 35, was killed and two others -- Saju, 25, and Md Sajidul, 30 --were injured after a banana-laden pickup overturned in Mujibnagar upazila on Thursday night.