Blood day on the roads as 11 killed in 3 districts

At least 11 people, including seven in a single incident, died and 15 others were injured in different road crashes in three districts on Saturday.

In Rajshahi, seven people, including five of a family, died as a private car carrying them hit a roadside tree and turned turtle in a roadside ditch at Karipur area under Godagari upazila at noon.

They were all going to a wedding ceremony.

The dead were identified as Hosne Ara Khatun, 32, her husband Mosabbir Hossain Akash, 35, their four-month-old son Adib Al Hasan, seven-year-old daughter Mufsira, Hosne's younger sister Asia Begum, 28, and cousin Atia Akhter, a student of Rajshahi Womens' Polytechnic Institute and the car driver Mahbubur Rahman Rajib, 40.

Three others were injured.

Four were residents of Debishingpara of Rajshahi city, while Asia lives in Dhaka.

Quoting the victim's family members and eye witnesses, police said the victims started from Rajshahi city and were heading towards Mohisalbari area under Godarigari upazila to attend a family member's marriage ceremony.

At around 12:30pm in Kazipur area, the driver suddenly lost control of the car and hit a roadside tree, before falling into a ditch.

After the accident, firefighters from Godagari Fire service unit rescued the victims and took them to hospital. Of them, Rajib, Akash and Asia died on the spot, while four others succumbed to their injuries in Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH).

Iftekhayer Alam, additional superintendent of Rajshahi District police, said, "We're still investigating the accident."

Meanwhile in Cumilla, three men were killed and some 15 passengers injured when the driver of a Dhaka-bound lost control of the vehicle and ran over a wayfarer and fell into a roadside ditch at Jinlatoli of Daudkandi on Dhaka-Chattogram highway at around 7:00am yesterday.

The deceased were identified as Shahid Ullah,65, son of late Mofiz Uddin of Chandara of Daudkandi Cumilla and two passengers Shafikul Islam,31, son of Shahalam of Dhaka's Keraniganj and Ramjan Ali,40, son of Abu Taher of Kathaltoli of Sirajdikhan of Munshiganj.

Sergeant Alamgir Hossain, of Daudkandi Highway Police Station, said, "A picnic bus returning from Cox's Bazar was being recklessly driven when the driver lost control and ran over a passerby before falling into a roadside ditch.

"Daudkandi Highway Police, along with firefighters and locals, rescued the injured passengers and send them to Daudkandi upazila health complex in Gouripur. The bus was recovered from the ditch after a couple of hours and the bodies were handed over to relatives."

In Manikganj, a motorcyclist was killed when a bus hit his motorcycle from behind at Falsatia Bus stand area on the Dhaka-Aricha highway under Shivalaya Upazila yesterday morning.

The deceased was identified as Masud Rana Jibon, 25, a resident of Karchabanha village under Manikganj sadar upazila.

Police said the victim was going to Paturia Ghat when the speeding bus hit his motorbike around 10:30am leaving him dead on spot.

The body was recovered and sent to the District Sadar Hospital for autopsy. Police seized the bus, but its driver and the helper managed to flee, said Basudeb Sinha, in-charge of Balgail Highway police outpost.

(Our Rajshahi, Cumilla and Manikganj correspondents contributed to this report.)