Cumilla Correspondent: Dhaka, Jul-29,
Three persons were killed and another was hurt after
a speeding van ploughed into a tractor trolley parked along the busy Dhaka-Chittagong
highway in Chandina upazila early on
Thursday.
Of the deceased, two were daily wagers loading sand
on to the tractor trolley. Police said that they were crushed to death under
the van that rammed the tractor trolley and overturned. The van driver, cops
said, also died in the impact of the crash.
The deceased were identified as daily wagers --
Nurul Islam, 40, a resident of Harikhola village in Cumilla's Chandina upazila,
and Foizar Rahman, 40, of Savar in Dhaka. Liton, 40, was the driver of the van.
According to the highway police, Nurul and Foizar
were loading sand on to the tractor trolley in front of a market in the
Harikhola Mazar area in the morning when the Dhaka-bound van crashed into the
tractor trolley after its driver lost control of the vehicle.
A unit of Chandina Fire Service carried out the
rescue operation. Nurul and Foizar died on the spot, while Liton succumbed to
his injuries on the way to hospital.
Md Rahmat Ullah, Superintendent of Police of Highway
Police Cumilla Region, said that the injured tractor driver, Amir Hossain, has
been shifted to Cumilla Medical College and Hospital. "A probe has been
ordered into the accident."
Road accidents in Bangladesh:
Road accidents are common in Bangladesh and have
been a major cause of deaths.
During the last Eid-ul-Fitr holiday rush, road
accidents claimed 323 lives in just 15 days, said Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan
Shamiti, a human rights body.
Besides, 513 people, including 63 children, were
killed and 598 injured in 409 road accidents across the country in March, said
Road Safety Foundation on April 5.
According to the NGO, 147 lives were lost in 138
motorcycle accidents, which is 28.65% of the total deaths.
In a report released in February 2020, the World
Bank pointed out that Bangladesh needs to invest an estimated $7.8 billion over
the next decade to halve its road crash fatalities.
The report attributed the high death rate on
Bangladesh’s roads to lack of investments in systemic, targeted, and sustained
road safety programmes.
End/Dct/Corr/Sma/
