9 killed as bus falls into ditch

At least nine people were killed and over 35 were injured when a bus carrying students of Chittagong Government College on a picnic fell into a ditch beside Bandarban-Chittagong Highway in Bandarban yesterday.

The report on casualties remain scrappy as there were no less than five people still trapped inside the wreck late last night.

"The possibility of the trapped students surviving is small," Additional District Magistrate of Bandarban Mahbub Karim told The Daily Star.

Eight of the deceased were identified as Hasan, Farzana, Ovi, Munni, Nipa, guardian Siddiqur Rahman, Dilwara Begum and Kapil Barua. The identity of the other person could not be confirmed.

Members of armed forces, police and firemen said they with the help of locals rescued over 35 people, our correspondent in Bandarban reports.

Nineteen of the critically injured were sent to Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) while 20 others to Bandarban Sadar Hospital.

Dilwara Begum and Kapil Barua died on their way to CMCH, our staff correspondent in Chittagong reports. Seven bodies were in Bandarban Sadar Hospital.

The accident happened around 6:30pm when the bus, with 50 students, teachers and guardians on board, fell into the 300-f00t-deep ditch as the driver lost control of the wheel ascending a hill.

The spot was two km away from Bandarban town near Monartek area, said Masud, an injured teacher of economics department of the college. The bus was one of the five carrying over 200 students and teachers of the department back to Chittagong after a picnic in Bandarban.

Army commander Brig Mahfuzur Rahman, Deputy Commissioner of Bandarban Moudud AK Qaiyum, Additional Superintendent of Police Tutul Talukder, Bandarban District Council Chairman Prof Thanjama Lusai and high officials of the armed forces, district administration, police and fire service rushed to the spot.

The CMCH authorities had kept its physicians on standby to treat the injured. Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) also took measures to keep roads free from traffic jams and help the injured reach the hospital faster, CMP Deputy Commissioner (north) Banaj Kumar Majumder said.

The scene at CMCH was heartbreaking as microbuses carrying students with critical injuries started arriving at the hospital from Bandarban after 9:30pm.

Guardians, teachers and relatives of students thronged the hospital praying for the injured and the dead. Every time a microbus or an ambulance entered CMCH they proceeded with shaky feet to have a glimpse and see if they knew the injured.