She could only watch as racing buses crushed her mother

A daughter watched her mother being crushed to death between two buses, the drivers of which were competing to get ahead, at an intersection in Gulistan yesterday.

Witnesses said the tragic incident happened around 1:00pm when the deceased, Parveen Begum, 48, and her daughter Suraiya Akhter were crossing the road to catch a Munshiganj-bound bus to return home.

Parveen Begum arrived in Dhaka from Munshiganj for her daughter's treatment.

Talking to reporters, Suraiya, who was also trapped between the buses but managed to escape in the nick of time, said she came to Dhaka with her mother in the morning to visit Shaheed Suhrawardi Medical College Hospital.

"From the hospital, we boarded a bus which dropped us in Gulistan. As we were crossing the road near Golap Shah Mazar to catch a bus home, we were trapped between two buses," Suraiya said.

The girl was behind her mother when the buses -- of N Mullick Paribahan and Aram Paribahan -- crushed her mother while competing to make U-turn at the intersection, said Jane Alam Jahid, a Red Crescent member who was volunteering to manage traffic there.

As the gap between the vehicles narrowed, Parveen was caught between the buses and collapsed on the ground only after one of the drivers reversed, he said.

With critical injuries, she was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where doctors declared her dead.

The body was sent to DMCH morgue for autopsy, Bachchu Mia, in-charge of police outpost at the hospital, said.

Mamun-or-Rashid, officer-in-charge of Shahbagh Police Station, said they seized the two buses and detained one of the drivers from the spot. Another driver is on the run.