5 killed after bus falls from bridge in Sirajganj

Five people, including police official, were killed and 15 others injured when a bus plunged into roadside ditch beside the Bonpara-Hatikumrul highway in Ullapara upazila of Sirajganj this morning.

The deceased are police inspector Sotindronath (55) of Bagatipara of Natore, Sofura Begum (60) of Pabna's Chatmohar, Sohagur Rahman (32) of Narshingdi Balusari, and Md Salauddi (40) and Md Dilara Begum (42) of Rajshahi.

All the victims were passengers of the bus, our Pabna correspondent reports quoting Md Lutfar Rahman, officer-in-charge of Hatikumrul Highway Police Station.

OC Lutfar Rahman said the accident took place around 10 am in the Goja Bridge area when the driver of the Dhaka-bound National Travels from Rajshahi lost control over the steering and plunged the vehicle 20 feet deep from the bridge.

The accident left four people dead on the spot and 16 others injured, said the OC.

The police official said the injured were admitted to different hospitals. Of them Dilara Begum died this afternoon while receiving treatment at a hospital.

"We gaze that the driver lost his control over the steering and plunged the bus from the bridge. The driver however went missing since the incident," the OC said.

Vehicular movement on the Bonpara-Hatikumrul highway was disrupted due to the accident for a while, added the police official.