5 die as chopped tree falls on auto-rickshaw
Five passengers of an auto rickshaw-van were killed and two injured after a roadside tree that was being chopped down fell on them in Mathartek area of Dhaka's Dhamrai upazila yesterday.
The victims are Nuru Mia (65), Shamsul Haque (70), Majeda Begum (65), Aysha Begum (60), and Shefali Begum. Three of the victims died on the spot, while another died at a local hospital, police said.
The injured were taken to Dhamrai Health Complex.
Mujibor Rahman, forest officer of Dhamrai, said the incident took place around noon on Kawalipara- Mirjapur road when a big rain tree was being chopped down by workers of one Hasan Ali. Hasan had leased the tree planted under a Forest Department tender. In case of chopping down trees, all tender holders were instructed to follow safety precautions, said Mujibor Rahman.
Family members of the victims alleged that the accident happened due to the tender holder's negligence.
Contacted, Samiul Haque, UNO of Dhamrai said police have been asked to investigate the matter.
OC Dipok Saha of Dhamrai Police Station said they were trying to detain the tender holder and his workers but they went into hiding immediately after the incident. As per their request, the bodies were handed over to the families without postmortem.
Around Tk 70,000 will be given to family members of the victims, said the UNO.
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