Four killed in 2 train accidents

Four people, including two members of a family, were killed in train accidents in two districts yesterday.

In Cumilla, a man and his son were killed after a Dhaka-bound train hit them at Bannagar in Nagalkot upazila in the afternoon.

The victims -- Mahbubul, 52, and his son Jishan, 5, -- were from Uttar Bannagar of the upazila.

Locals said Jishan was playing on the railway track around 5:00pm. At that time, Mahbubul noticed that an intercity train was crossing the area.

To save his son, he tried to rush there, but the train hit both of them. The two died on the spot.

In another accident, two people were killed as a Dhaka-bound train hit their motorcycle in Thakurgaon's Pirganj upazila yesterday morning.

The victims are Abdus Sobhan, 59, a former employee of Thakurgaon Judge's Court, and Ruhul Amin, 40, a staffer of the same court.

Muktar Hossain, station master of Pirganj Railway Station, told The Daily Star over phone that the Dhaka-bound Drutojan Express hit the motorcycle around 9:15am when they were crossing an unauthorised and unmanned level crossing in Jagtha village.

Sobhan and Ruhul died on the spot.

The two were going to Pirganj, said sources at Thakurgaon Judge's Court.

On information, firefighters from Pirganj fire service rushed to the spot and recovered the bodies.

Later, Dinajpur Railway police sent the bodies to Thakurgaon Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsies. An unnatural death case was filed with the police station in this connection, said Goljar Hossain, officer-in-charge of the police station.

Following the accident, train communications between Panchagarh and Dinajpur remained suspended for about two hours.

Sagor Hossain, 25, of Jagtha village, told this paper that people frequently use the road and cross the level crossing as the road is in Pirganj municipality area. But the authorities concerned did not take any initiatives to install a barrier there for decades.

The crossing point has become more risky as the number of trains has increased in recent years, locals said.

Anisur Rahman, divisional traffic superintendent of Lalmonirhat, could not be contacted for his comments on setting up a barrier and appointing a gateman there.

[Our correspondents in Cumilla and Thakurgaon contributed to this report.]