Six killed in road crashes

Five people were killed and one injured after a sand-laden truck rammed an auto-rickshaw at Mahigonj Sorealtal area on Rangpur-Pirgcha regional road on Tuesday noon.

The deceased were auto-rickshaw driver Raza Miah, 45, passengers Geeta Rani, 60, Shahjahan Miah, 55, and a four-year-old child.

The officer-in-charge (OC) of Rangpur Metropolitan Mahigonj police station, Mostafizur Rhaman said, a sand-laden truck knocked behind an auto-rickshaw at Mahigonj Sorealtal area outskirts of the city at around 1.30 pm killing two people on the spot and four injured. Locals sent the injured to Rangpur Medical College Hospital immediately where three others succumbed to their injuries.

On information, police reached the spot and recovered the dead bodies and sent the dead bodies to RPMCH morgue for post-mortem examination. Police held the truck however the driver and helper managed to flee the scene.

In Manikganj a 28-year-old man was killed and 20 others injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck on the busy Manikganj-Golra highway on Tuesday morning, police said.

The deceased was identified as Sohag Gazi, a resident of Brakshandia village in Rajbari district. He was a passenger on the bus.

However, the identities of the injured could not be known immediately. The accident occurred around 10.30 am when the Paturiaghat-bound bus crashed into the truck coming from the opposite direction, said Mohammad Masud Khan, OC of Manikganj Golra Highway Police Station.

“The impact of the crash was such that Gazi died on the spot. The injured are being treated at Manikganj District Hospital and Munnu General Hospital,” he said, adding that the two vehicles were seized. Road accidents in Bangladesh continue to claim hundreds of lives every year.

As many as 524 people, including 73 children, were killed and 821 others injured in 467 road accidents across the country in June.

Of these, 204 people died in bike accidents alone during this period, which is 38.93% of the total fatalities, Road Safety Foundation (RSF) said in its latest report released on Monday.

Besides, 107 pedestrians, 86 drivers and their assistants were killed in the accidents. The RSF prepared the report based on the reports of nine national dailies, seven online news portals and electronic media.

Of the total accidents, some 159 occurred on national highways, 174 on regional roads, 72 on rural roads, 56 on city roads and six in other places, said the report.

The RSF urged the authorities concerned to address the issues and take necessary initiatives to fix those.