17 killed in deadly road accident

A deadly crash on Dhaka-Rajshahi highway left at least 17 people dead, 11 of whom were burnt to death after one of the vehicles caught fire.

Witnesses said the microbus involved in the crash near Katakhali Police Station yesterday afternoon went up in flames after a loud bang and it kept burning for almost 10 minutes until the firefighters arrived.

There were four children and five women of four families among the 11 people who were burnt to death, said Bibhuti Bhushan Banarjee, deputy commissioner of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police.

It happened when a bus collided with the Toyota HiAce coming from the opposite direction. The HiAce then hit a human haulier parked by the road, the officer added.

Taslima Khatun, who lives near the scene, said she went outside hearing what she thought was a bomb explosion and witnessed the most distressing scene of her life.

"Men, women and children got burnt alive before my eyes. But I could not do anything," she said, adding that policemen near the scene didn't let anyone go near the vehicle.

"When I opened the door of my house, I saw the totaled HiAce just yards away and the large bus of Hanif Enterprise had fallen off the road on the other side.

"I saw a man lying on the road near the HiAce. A woman might have tried to come out of the vehicle through a window, but her legs got stuck in the window. She was screaming. The front-left corner of the vehicle caught fire first."

She added that she then went back home and called the fire station.

She also saw a toddler being thrown out of a widow. "A woman inside the vehicle was asking me to save the child. Police didn't let anyone go near the vehicle.

"Within moments, the vehicle went up in flames that killed everyone. The parked human haulier also caught fire and got burnt."

She added that no one could go near the vehicle and try to save the people trapped inside.

"When the firefighters arrived, there was nothing to be saved."

Banarjee said it appeared that both the drivers of the vehicles were driving recklessly.

The policemen didn't allow anyone to go near the burning vehicle to avoid any further damage to human life, he added.

"The fire appears to have been caused by the impact. The fire started in the engine bay and then gas pipes leaked, causing the massive flames," said Abdur Rashid, assistant director of Rajshahi Fire Service and Civil Defence.

The charred remains of the microbus. Photo: Collected

He said they recovered at least 11 charred bodies, including two children and four women, from the vehicle.

Firefighters rescued eight people from near the charred vehicle, three of them had burn injuries. Six of them, including two children and a woman, died of their injuries at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, he said.

Hearing the news, Sergeant Nur Mohammad of Bangladesh Army visited the scene. He said, the dead include five of his family members: his sister Nazma Khatun, 28, Nazma's husband Ful Mia, 35, their son Faisal Ahmed, 13, and daughters Samiha, 8, and Sumaiya, 4.

Police said the others who died include: Salahuddin, his wife Shamsunnahar, and their children Sajid and Saba, Shamsunnahar's sister Kamrunnahar, and Tajul Islam, his wife Mukta, and son Yamin. Another man who died was named Mokhlesur.

There were 13 passengers in the HiAce, Sergeant Nur said. The 13 people of four families boarded the microbus from their homes in Pirganj, Rangpur.

They were going to Rajshahi on holiday and intended to visit tourist destinations. They were supposed to have lunch at Nur Mohammad's home.

"I prepared their lunch. But none of them are alive now. I have seen the bodies. Police say there is nothing left to see," he told this correspondent.

Police said the others who died were passengers of the bus.