9 die as wedding vehicle collides with bus in Munshiganj

At least nine people, including six members of a family, were killed and three others injured as a bus collided with a microbus at Sreenagar in Munshiganj this afternoon.

The deceased were identified as Abdur Rahshid Bepari, 60, father of bridegroom Rubel Hossain,  Rubel cousin Ranu, 12, his sister Liza, 22, Liza’s daughter Tabassum, 4, and her sister-in-law (wife of brother) Runa Akhter, 22, her son Tahsin, 3, and their neighbors Keramat Ali, 70, and Mafizul, 60, and microbus driver Bilal, 28.

They all were hailing from Kankosha village of Louhajang upazila in Munshiganj and and passengers of the microbus, reports our local correspondent.

The accident took place on Dhaka-Mawa highway when a microbus carrying a groom’s party was heading towards Dhaka’s Keraniganj from Louhajang around 2:00pm, said Officer-in-charge (OC) of Srinagar Police Station Hedaytul Islam Bhuiyan.

The police official also said that the mishap occurred as the speeding bus of Swadhin Paribahan was overtaking another bus on the road.  

Driver of the microbus and its seven passengers died on the spot and four people sustained injuries in the accident, he said.

Police recovered the bodies and sent those to Sreenagar Upazila Health Complex while the injured persons were sent to Dhaka.

Of the injured, Runa died while undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), said OC Hedaytul Islam.

Police seized both the vehicles from the spot but driver and helper of the bus managed to flee the scene, the OC said.

The traffic movement remained suspended for half an hour on the highway due to the fatal road accident, he said.” We are trying to arrest driver and helper of the bus,” the OC said.

On information, Md Moniruzzaman Talukdar, deputy commissioner of Munshiganj, visited the spot and provided Tk 20,000 for each family members of victims.

Necessary steps for ensuring treatment of the injured people are now being taken by the local administration, he said.  

A seven-member probe committee headed by Dipak Kumar Roy, additional deputy commissioner of Munshiganj, was formed to investigate the cause of the accident, Md Moniruzzaman Talukdar, deputy commissioner of the district told our correspondent.

The committee has been asked to submit its report within seven working days, he added.