Bus plunge kills 9 in Jhalakathi
Bus plunge kills 9 in Jhalakathi
At least nine people, including two women and a child, were killed and 35 others injured in a road accident in Rajapur upazila yesterday.
Police fear the death toll may rise as some of the injured are in critical condition.
According to witnesses, the Barisal-bound bus of Rupam Paribahan from Khulna was vying with another bus to reach the next stop to get more passenger.
"A tyre of the bus hit something and punctured near Bekutia Ferry Ghat but the driver drove on ignoring our requests," Babita Mandal, who survived the accident, told this correspondent.
When it reached near Bishwasbari bridge, the bus lost control and plunged into a canal by Khulna-Barisal highway around 3:30pm, killing eight on the spot, said Masuduzzaman, officer-in-charge of Rajapur Police Station.
Another died on the way to Barisal Sher-E-Bangla Medical College Hospital where 22 of the injured in critical condition were being treated, he added.
Six of the deceased are Shaon, 35, son of Sabuj Mollah of Patuakhali's Lebukhali; Shaon's wife Kulsum alias Jorna, 28; Abul Kalam, 45, son of Joynul Abedin of Mehendiganj in Barisal; Advocate Mukul, 40, of Barisal; Shanti Rani Sheel, 19; and Sadhona Rani Sheel, 13, of Shonapara of Pirojpur. The rest could not be identified till 1:00am.
The bodies were kept at Rajapur Upazila Health Complex. The driver went missing after the accident.
Meanwhile, locals who worked alongside the police and fire service personnel in the rescue operation said the casualties could have been less if wreckers to salvage the bus had been brought in quickly.
"It took three hours for the first wrecker to arrive here from the Barisal city, a merely 40-minute distance. We saw people stuck under the bus. They were throwing their hands in the air for help. The bus was too heavy for us to move. If the wreckers came in time, we could save at least a few of them," said a local rescuer.