6 killed in separate road accidents in Rajshahi, Bogura, B’baria

Six people were killed in separate road accidents in Rajshahi, Bogura and Brahmanbaria districts yesterday (18 March), police said.

In Rajshahi, a man and his five-year-old son were killed when a sand-laden truck rammed their motorbike at Baneshwar Kolahata in Puthaia upazila yesterday.

The deceased were identified as Kawser, 26, and his son Redowan, residents of Sholua village under Mougachhi union in Charghat upazila.

Officer-in-Charge of Paba Highway Police Station Mozammel Haque Khan said the truck, heading towards Natore from Rajshahi, collided with the motorbike coming from the opposite direction, leaving the father and son dead on the spot.

Police seized the truck and are taking legal action, he added.

In Bogura, three people were burned to death and nine others sustained burn injuries after a microbus caught fire following a gas cylinder explosion on the Dhaka-Bogura highway at Sonka in Sherpur upazila.

The deceased were identified as Maminul Islam, his sister Sheuli Begum, and her niece Tayeba, residents of Taluk Shahbaz in Kaunia upazila of Rangpur.

According to Bakhtiar Uddin, warehouse inspector of Bogura Fire Service and Civil Defence, the microbus exploded with a loud bang and overturned around 7:30am while heading towards the northern region, leaving one person dead on the spot and others injured.

Firefighters rushed to the scene and brought the blaze under control. The injured were taken to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital, where two more victims later died.

In another incident in Brahmanbaria, a CNG-run auto-rickshaw driver was killed after a covered van hit his vehicle on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway at Malihata in Sadar upazila.

The deceased was identified as Ashique, 55, son of Ira Mia of the same upazila.

He died on the spot after the collision while heading towards Ashuganj, said Jahangir Alam, officer-in-charge of Khatihata Highway Police Station.

Following the incident, angry locals set the covered van on fire.

Police later recovered the body and sent it to Brahmanbaria General Hospital morgue for an autopsy. The driver of the covered van managed to flee, and no arrests have been made so far.