Hit by bridge girder, 3 killed

Three people were killed and two injured after being hit by the girder of a bridge in Bhangura upazila early yesterday.

The dead are Saiful Islam, 32, Matobbar Ali, 30, and Ziaul Islam, 35, of Lohalmari village under Shibganj upazila of Chapainawabganj. All of them were construction workers.

Quoting witnesses, Kamal Hossain, officer-in-charge of Sirajganj Government Railway Police Station, said the five victims were travelling on the roof of Nilphamari-bound Nilsagar Express and knocked against the girder while the train was crossing the Koidanga Rail Bridge around 4:00am. “The victims probably did not see the girder coming because of the thick fog. Three of them died on the spot,” he said.

Sources said the train was carrying extra passengers on its roof due to the rush of Biswa Ijtema-returnees amid the ongoing blockade by the BNP-led 20-party.

Such tragic accidents are quite frequent as the girders are too close to the rails on the bridge, reports our Pabna correspondent.

General Railway Police recently took some special measures to prevent such accidents, said Mosharraf Hossain, divisional railway manager (Pakshey division).

"Whenever there is a huge passenger rush, trains are stopped near the bridge and the passengers on the roofs are alerted by blowing whistles.

“While crossing the bridge passengers on the roof have to lie down. The victims might have fallen asleep when the mishap happened,” he said.

A five-member committee was formed to investigate the incident, Mosharraf added.

After the accident, the relatives who were also travelling with the victims on the roof took the bodies to Chapainawabganj, said police.