4 of a family’s 4 generations among 7 killed

Four members of the same family, including a five-year-old child, were among seven people killed when a bus collided head-on with a CNG-run auto-rickshaw in Mymensingh on Friday.

The accident occurred around 1:15pm in the Purbo Gandrapa area in front of Bangladesh Bank on Akua Bypass Road, police said.

The impact left the auto-rickshaw completely mangled. All seven people inside the vehicle died at the scene, according to police.

Four of the victims were members of the same family. 

They were travelling from Jamalpur to Gazipur when the accident occurred.

The four were identified as Mofazzal Hossain Lebu, 50, his mother Rashida Begum, 70, his daughter Marjina, 25, and Marjina's son Minal, 5. They were residents of Dari Hamidpur village in the Nandina area of Jamalpur Sadar upazila.

The identities of the other three victims were not immediately known.

A Rajib Paribahan bus travelling from Jamalpur towards Dhaka collided head-on with the CNG auto-rickshaw, which was travelling in the opposite direction, police said.

Nazim Uddin, a businessman from Badekalpa village in Mymensingh city, witnessed the crash while he was going to a mosque for Friday prayers.

He told Prothom Alo that he heard a loud crash, turned his motorcycle around and rushed to the scene. He found the auto-rickshaw crushed under the bus.

Nazim said he saw a woman and a child moving and breathing inside the vehicle. He pulled them out and placed them by the roadside. However, both died shortly afterwards while arrangements were being made to take them to hospital.

 "I have never seen an accident like this in my life," Nazim said. He also criticised people who were taking photos and videos instead of helping with the rescue.

Police and Fire Service personnel later reached the scene and recovered the bodies. The bodies were sent to the morgue of Mymensingh Medical College Hospital.

Police seized the bus and the auto-rickshaw after the accident. The bus driver and his helper fled the scene, and efforts were underway to arrest them.

Mohammad Shibirul Islam, officer-in-charge of Kotwali Model Police Station, said preliminary findings suggested that excessive speed by both vehicles may have caused the collision. The investigation will determine the exact cause.

The accident caused anger among local residents, who demanded measures to stop reckless speeding by buses on the highway.

Traffic on Akua Bypass Road was disrupted for about an hour following the crash before returning to normal.