15 killed in Natore road crash

FT ONLINE

With the killing of 15 people in a fatal road accident in Natore on the 4thday of Eid-ul-Azha, a total of 59 people lost their lives in road accidents across the country from Monday to yesterday.

The Natore crash also left 13 others injured on Natore-Pabna highway at Kadamchilan in Baraigram Upazila on in the afternoon.

Six of the deceased were identified as Rajofa, 45, and Shefali Begum, 48, hailing from Narayanpur village of Boraigram upazila in the district, Logena, 60, and Aduri Biswas, 35, of Jamaidigha village in the same upazila, Abdus Subhan, 75, of Pakshi in Pabna district and Suraiya, 2, from Ishwardi upazila in Pabna.

The accident took place when a Bogura-bound bus of 'Challenger Paribahan' from Pabna hit a human-hauler (locally named as leguna) carrying 15 passengers around 4:10 pm, leaving 13 passengers of the human-hauler dead on the spot and 15 bus travellers injured, said Biplob BijayTalukder, superintendent of Natore Police.

The rest two succumbed to theirinjuries at a local hospital. Bonpara highway police recovered the bodies.

Meanwhile, the district administration formed a 3-member probe committee, led by additional district magistrate Mohammad Saiduzzaman, which has been asked to submit its report within five working days.

Besides, the local administration announced to provide TK 20,000 to each of the deceased's families and Tk 10,000 to each of the injured victims' families.

Meanwhile, the Roads and Highways Division formed a ten-member probe committee to investigate the accidents occurred across the country during the Eid vacation.

The committee was formed at the directive of Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, said Abu Naser, senior Information Officer of the division.

The committee, headed by Additional Director Shafiqul Islam, was asked to submit its report within next 10 days, he added.

Earlier in the morning, two people were killed and 25 others injured in a road accident on Dhaka-Chattogram Highway at Jimaltola in Cumilla's Daudkandi upazila.

In Rajshahi, Md Nazim, 50, and his grandson Arafat, 3, were killed and two others injured in a collision between a motorcycle and an auto-rickshaw in Katakhali area of the city yesterday morning.