14 killed on roads in 5 dists

At least 14 people, including a mother and a child, were killed and 25 others injured in separate accidents across five districts yesterday.

In Chattogram's Mirsarai upazila, three people were killed and two others injured in a head-on collision between a pick-up van and a CNG-run auto-rickshaw around 3:00pm in front of Azmanagar School in the Chinkirhat area on the Baraiyarhat-Khagrachhari road, said police.

The deceased were identified as Saiful Islam Shahin, 17, Sumi Akhter, 25, and her son Manarul, 3 -- all residents of Bamansundar area in the upazila. Those injured are the auto-rickshaw driver Zia Uddin Bablu, 30, and his daughter Tanisha, 7.

Confirming the incident, Mostakin Hossain, sub-inspector of Jorarganj Police Station, said police seized the vehicles after the accident, but the pick-up van driver managed to flee.

In Panchagarh's Debiganj upazila, Shahin Islam, a 14-year-old ice-cream vendor from Sarkarpara village, was killed when a Nosimon -- a shallow-engine three-wheeler -- hit a battery-run cycle-van.

Md Sohel Rana, officer-in-charge of Debiganj Police Station, told The Daily Star that Shahin was on duty and heading towards Debiganj town along the Debiganj-Nilsagar road. Around 5:00pm, a cow-laden Nosimon coming from the opposite direction rammed into his van in front of Alamnagar Government Primary School, leaving him critically injured.

Locals rescued Shahin and took him to the upazila health complex, where he was declared dead.

Police detained the Nosimon driver and seized the vehicle. Shahin's father later filed a case, the OC said.

In Dinajpur's Ghoraghat upazila, five people died and 15 were injured when a bus rammed into two stationary trucks on the Dinajpur-Gobindaganj road.

The deceased were identified as bus supervisor Aminul Islam, 45, of Naogaon's Sadar upazila; passengers Tamanna Akter, 25, and Arif Islam, 25, of Thakurgaon's Sadar upazila; Ershad Ali, 25, of Panchagarh Sadar upazila; and Kibria Bhuiyan, 25, of Dhaka's Savar upazila.

Md Nazmul Haque, officer-in-charge of Ghoraghat Police Station, said Ershad was a soldier of the Bangladesh Army and Tamanna a private university student.

He said a mango-laden truck had broken down in Nurjahanpur, with a sand-laden truck parked in front of it. Around 3:45am, a Dhaka-bound bus from Panchagarh hit the first truck and then rammed into the second. Three people died on the spot and 17 were injured.

Police, firefighters, and locals rushed to the scene and took the injured to Ghoraghat Upazila Health Complex. Two more victims died there, while the rest were transferred to hospitals in Dinajpur and Rangpur. A case has been filed under the Road Transport Act, the OC said.

In Jhalakathi, two people died in a head-on collision between a bus and a pick-up van near Pakapool in Rajapur upazila around 12:45pm.

The deceased were Moshiur Rahman, 65, of Magura's Sadar upazila, and Suwaz Biswas, 46, of Madhukhali upazila in Faridpur.

Abdul Malek, inspector (investigation) of Rajapur Police Station, said one was the van driver and the other a passenger. The bus was empty.

Quoting witnesses, he said the bus was on its way to Pirojpur's Bhandaria from Dhaka when it collided with the van. Both vehicles fell into a roadside ditch.

Police and firefighters rescued the victims in critical condition, but doctors later declared them dead at a local hospital.

In Pirojpur, a motorcyclist was killed after being hit by a bus in the Boropool area of Pirojpur Sadar upazila around 9:00am.

The deceased was Shihab Khalifa, 22, of Hoglabuniya village in Indurkani upazila, said Sub-inspector Hasib Hossain. Locals took him to Pirojpur Sadar Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The bus driver fled the scene, police said.

In Cumilla's Daudkandi upazila, one person died and eight were injured when a passenger bus plunged into a roadside ditch near Shahidnagar Rajarhat on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway around 3:00am.

The deceased was Shilpi Begum, 26, of Machuakhali village in Patuakhali, said Mohammad Rashed Khan Chowdhury, officer-in-charge of Daudkandi Highway Police Station. The bus was heading to Cox's Bazar from Patuakhali when the driver lost control of the steering.

In Habiganj's Madhabpur upazila, a man was killed after being hit by a train in the Teliapara area around 3:30pm.

Sub-inspector Joy Pal of the local police outpost said the man, believed to be about 30, was walking along the rail track while on the phone when a Chattogram-bound Paharika Express train hit him. He died on the spot.

Police recovered the body, but his identity could not be confirmed till the filing of this report around 9:00pm.

(Our correspondents from Chattogram, Thakurgaon, Pirojpur, Cumilla and Moulvibazar contributed to the report.)