Six Killed, Including a Mother and Son, in Two Faridpur Road Crashes Half an Hour Apart

Six people, including a mother and her young son, were killed in two separate road accidents in Faridpur within the space of half an hour on Friday (23 October). Both crashes happened around 3 pm at two points on the Dhaka-Khulna highway. Nine more people were injured in the two accidents and were admitted to Faridpur Medical College Hospital.

The first accident occurred at Tentultala in Kanaipur on the highway, where a sand-laden truck lost control and overturned onto an autorickshaw and a private car. A mother and her son travelling in the autorickshaw were killed.

Police and locals said the autorickshaw was travelling from Kanaipur towards Faridpur town when, on reaching Tentultala, the sand-laden truck coming from the opposite direction lost control and overturned on the road. A private car was also crushed under the truck. The casualties from the two damaged vehicles were rescued and taken to Faridpur Medical College Hospital, where doctors on duty declared the autorickshaw's mother-and-son passengers dead.

The deceased mother is Sumi Begum (32) and her son is Shaon (7); they are members of the family of Palash Mia of Chapainawabganj. The autorickshaw driver also reportedly died in the crash, though his identity could not be known immediately.

After the crash, a passenger of the private car was trapped beneath the sand-laden truck. Fire Service personnel rescued him after an effort lasting about an hour. Four passengers of the private car were injured in the accident, while two of the five people in the autorickshaw were killed.

The accident caused severe traffic congestion on both sides of the highway, and efforts were made to restore normal traffic movement.

Sribas Baroi, senior station officer of Faridpur Fire Service, confirmed the incident and said the accident is believed to have occurred because the truck lost control. An autorickshaw was damaged alongside the private car, he said, adding that the mother and son died after being taken to hospital and that three more injured people were receiving treatment there.

Shortly afterwards, the second accident took place at Arkandi in Madhukhali upazila of Faridpur, on the same Dhaka-Khulna highway. A passenger bus and an ambulance collided head-on, killing three students who were in the ambulance. Four more people were injured.

The Satkhira-to-Dhaka "King Fisher" passenger bus reached the Arkandi area when it collided head-on with the ambulance travelling from Faridpur towards Magura. Three people in the ambulance died on the spot and four others were injured. The injured were rescued and sent to Madhukhali Upazila Health Complex and Faridpur Medical College Hospital.

Shamim Reza, station officer of Madhukhali Fire Service, said seven students had come from Magura district in the morning to join a workshop in Faridpur. The accident happened while they were returning home by ambulance after the workshop. The students were involved with various social organisations.

Two fatal accidents on the same highway on the same day, half an hour apart, have once again raised questions about vehicle speed and safety on the highway. Officials say investigations will establish the real causes of both incidents — the sand-laden truck losing control and the head-on bus-ambulance collision. Treatment of the injured is continuing, and the process of handing the bodies over to their families is under way.