44 killed on roads during Eid holidays

Some 44 people were killed and more than a hundred were injured in road accidents across the country during the Eid holidays, with motorcycle accidents causing about one-third of the fatalities.

Of the dead, 14 were killed in nine separate motorbike accidents in different districts, reports our local correspondents from different districts.

The total number of death toll might have been higher as many accidents go unreported.

The numbers of the death toll during the Eid-ul-Fitr vacation were 42 and 41 in 2018 and 2017 respectively.

In Dhaka, two people were killed and six others were injured in separate road accidents in different areas on Thursday.

A youth was killed and two others were injured when a CNG-run auto-rickshaw hit their motorcycle from behind on Mayor Hanif Flyover in the capital’s Tikatuli area.

The incident took place around 2:00pm when three friends -- Rimon, 19, Shohag, 19, and Nasim, 19, -- were taking a ride on Shohag’s motorcycle, reports our correspondent.

They were rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) where doctors pronounced Rimon dead around 3:00pm, said Abdul Khan, assistant sub-inspector of DMCH Police Outpost.

In another incident, a teenager was killed and another was injured as their motorcycle lost control and hit a road divider of Mayor Hanif Flyover in Sayedabad area around 2:15pm.

The dead, Reaz Ahmed, 18, was a resident of Siddhirganj in Narayanganj.

In a separate incident, three people were injured when a CNG-run auto-rickshaw got crushed after being trapped between two buses in Mirpur 11 around 1:00pm, said Kamrul Hassan, an official of Fire Service and Civil Defence headquarters.

Agitated locals beat up the driver of one of the buses and handed him over the law enforcers.

In Chittagong, a motorcycle rider Nasir Uddin Jibon, 36, was killed when a pickup hit him from behind on Dewanhat overpass around 1:30am on Wednesday.

In Bogura, three people were killed in motorcycle accidents.

A 60-year-old woman was killed yesterday morning when a high-speed motorcycle struck her the Tengra Govt. Primary School on Bogura-Namuza road.

The dead Hamida Akter was the wife of Haider Ali and a resident of Chottotengra village.

Two others -- Smrity Aktar, 22, and Aynur Islam, 20, -- were killed in separate motorcycle accidents in the district during the Eid vacation.

Eight more motorcycle riders were killed in Barishal, Faridpur, Bagerhat and Jhenaidah.

At least 1,41,129 motorcycles were registered across the country in the first four months this year, meaning 1,176 bikes are registered every day on an average, according to Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).

OTHER ACCIDENTS

Five people were killed and 22 injured in a road accident on Dhaka-Khulna Highway in Dhuldi Railgate area of Faridpur’s Sadar upazila on the Eid day.

The dead are Sahabuddin Mridha, 35, Nayan Sheikh, 22, Surman Mollah, 32, Malek Majhi, 48, and Shahriyar Asad, 25.

Quoting local, Joynul Islam, sub-inspector of Karimpur Highway Police Station, said, “The accident took place when the driver of a Chuadanga-bound bus of AK Travels lost control and hit a roadside tree around 6:45am.”

At least five people were killed and 15 injured in separate road mishaps in Sirajganj.

Two people, including a banker, were killed when a sedan veered off into a roadside ditch at Harinchora area of Hatikumrul-Bonpara highway in the district.

The dead are Emarul Hossain, 42, and Rubel Hossain, 45. Emarul was a branch manager of Agrani Bank.

Three more people were killed in the district in two separate incidents of head-on collisions between bus and truck on Sirajganj highway during the holiday.

In Cumilla, two children Mainuddin Jisan, 8, and Kawser, 10, were killed as a speedy sedan ran over them in front of Asha Jute Mill beside Dhaka-Chattogram highway on the night of Eid.

Two youths were killed and six others were injured as a pickup collided with a bus on Bangabandhu Bridge Salla area under Kalihati upazila.

In Pirojpur, a bus ran over a 16-month-old child in front of Rabeya Petrol Pump near Chouthaimahal bus station on Tuesday.

In Narsingdi, Mamun Mia, 20 and Abdur Razzak, 28, were killed when a Brahmanbaria-bound bus from Dhaka collided with a local bus on Dhaka-Sylhet highway on Thursday.

In Bogura, a bus driver of Karatoa bus service Shahidul Islam, 40, was killed in a head-on collision with another bus on Dhaka-Bogura highway on Thursday.

Earlier on the day, Kashem Ali, 42, driver of a van, was killed in an accident.

At least five people, including three Rohingya refugees, were killed in separate road accidents in Cox’s Bazar yesterday.

In Teknaf, a pickup van skidded off the road and fell into a ditch at Noakhalipara around 2:00pm, leaving three Rohingyas dead on the spot and 15 others injured, said Md Rabiul Hassan, UNO of Teknaf upazila.

The deceased were identified as Noor Mohammad, 40, Md Idris, 17, and Md Jubayer, 30.

In Chakaria, Roushan Ara, 42, and Sonak Pal, 27, were killed and eight others were injured when two buses collided head-on.