Homecoming turns tragic

When their expatriate family just landed in the Dhaka airport early yesterday, their joy knew no bounds.

Hugs, kisses and selfies filled their entire moment upon reception at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, before the entire bunch heading towards their Moulvibazar home in a microbus.

However, that very joy turned into a complete nightmare within a few hours when tragedy struck, as a sand-laden truck collided with their vehicle and then a covered van on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway in Shahpur area of Habiganj's Madhabpur.

Sadia Sultana, 24, of Moulvibazar's Kamalganj upazila, her husband Abdus Salam, 32, their daughter Habiba Jannat, 3, Sadia's cousin Shihab, 15, and their driver Sadir Ali, 25, were killed.

Of them, Shihab, Salam and Sadir died on the spot, whereas Sadia and Jannat breathed their last on their way to the hospital, said Jashim Miah, sub-inspector of Shayestaganj Highway Police.

"The accident took place due to poor visibility cause by the dense fog."

The microbus first collided head-on with a sand-laden truck around 3:30am. Another covered van then hit the microbus from behind and dragged it a few yards forward, he added.

All three vehicles were seized and the bodies were recovered. The surviving injured were sent to hospital, said Mohammad Abdur Razzak, officer-in-charge of Madhabpur Police Station.

Sadia's brother Raju Ahmed, 29, their father Nurul Islam, 50, and Sadia's other cousin Nishat, 18, are currently fighting for their lives at Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, said family members.

"I lost everything in the blink of an eye. I don't know how will I bear the loss and pass the rest of my life," said Sadia's wailing mother-in-law Ferdousi Begum.

"My son [Salam] was the only wage earner of the family. Now, we will have to beg for survival."

While the family was supposed to rejoice in reunion, but instead were engulfed by utter shock and grief, said local union parishad member Helal Ahmed.

Raju, of Madanagar village in Moulvibazar's Kulaura upazila, was an expatriate worker in Malaysia. He returned home early yesterday.