6 killed in Barishal road accident

At least six persons were killed as an ambulance collided head on with a covered van in Ujirpur upazila of Barishal today.

The incident happened around 4:30pm at Atipara area on Dhaka-Barishal highway when a Jhalakathi-bound ambulance collided with the covered van coming from the opposite direction, said Ziaul Ahsan, officer-in-charge of Ujirpur Police Station.

Five passengers of the ambulance died on the spot while one was critically injured and died after being taken to Ujirpur Upazila Health Complex, the OC said.

The deceased -- four men and two woman -- are: Arif Hossain, his wife Shuli Begum, his mother Kahinur Begum, his brother Qayyum Hossain, ambulance driver Alamgir Hossain, and another unidentified youth.

According to police and witnesses, Arif and his family members were taking the body of his three-day old infant daughter following her death from Uttara in Dhaka to their village home in Jhalakathi for burial.

At Atipara area on the highway, the ambulance collided with the covered van coming from Barishal and then a passenger bus also hit the covered van from behind, leaving five persons in the ambulance dead on the spot. None of the passengers of the two other vehicles suffered injuries, the OC said.

On information, police went to the spot and seized the covered van and the bus while the bodies of the deceased were recovered and sent to Gournadi Upazila Health Complex. The drivers of the van and the bus managed to flee, the official said.

Movement of vehicle was halted on the highway for about an hour until police moved the three vehicles involved in the accident from the road and traffic returned to normalcy, OC Ziaul added.