Three killed as bus hits rickshaw-van in Barishal

Three people were killed and a child was injured after a bus crashed into a battery-run rickshaw-van on Dhaka-Barishal highway in Barishal yesterday.

The accident took place in Rahmatpur bridge area under Babuganj upazila while the van was crossing the road around noon.

The deceased are Fazlul Haque (60), a resident of Manikkathi village in Rahmatpur of Babuganj; and his relative Poly Akter (35). They were travelling on the rickshaw-van.

Van driver Zainal Khan (45), who was from Manikkathi village in the upazila, passed away at Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital in Barishal, said ward master Mashiul Alam Ferdous.

Tauhid, four-year-old son of deceased Poly Akter, was injured in the accident.

He was taken from the hospital to the capital for better treatment.

After the accident, locals blocked the road for an hour in protest.

The passenger bus of Shyamoli Paribahan was coming to Dhaka from Barishal Central Bus Terminal. Airport Police Station Officer-in-Charge (investigation) Amanullah Al Bari said they seized the bus but the driver fled the scene.