12 killed in road accidents in 5 dists

A dozen people were killed and as many injured in road accidents in Madaripur, Comilla, Tangail, Sirajganj and Natore districts on Saturday. At least five people were killed as a bus knocked them down near Haji Shariatullah Bridge in Shibchar Upazila headquarters of Madaripur. The dead are Imran Ahmed, 18, Halima Begum, and Rehana Begum, 18, students of Haji Ilias Ahmmed College, Arju Begum, 30, and Sakib, a 1-year-old boy. In Comilla, two motorcyclists were crushed under the wheels of a truck on Dhaka-Chittagong Highway in Burichong Upazila in the afternoon. The deceased were identified as Fazlul Haque Nishan, 27, son of Abdul Barek, and his (Nishan) cousin Anwarul Haque Rasel, 28, son of Aminul Haque of Mohammadpur village of Feni Sadar Upazila. Two other bikers were crushed under a covered van on the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway at Kather Pool in Chandina Upazila around 1:00am, said Sohel Ahmed, officer-in-charge of Moynamoti Highway Police Station. In Sirajganj, van-puller Omed Ali, 30, son of Tomser Ali of Mohonpur village of Ullahpara Upazila, died on the spot as a bus hit his vehicle at Saidabad Intersection in Sirajganj Sadar Upazila around 7am. In separate incident, a microbus crashed into a moving bus on Dhaka-Bogra Highway at Bhuiyangati in Raiganj Upazila around 10am, leaving microbus passenger Fancy Khatun, 23, of Sadullahpur Upazila of Gaibandha district, dead on the spot and 7 other microbus passengers injured. In Tangail, a bus rammed a motorbike on Dhaka-Tangail Highway in Mirzapur Upazila around 1:30pm, killing biker Khatib Uddin Mamun, 32, a resident of Muradbari village in Nachole Upazila of Chapainawabganj district, on the spot. In Natore, a bus hit an auto-rickshaw at Khejurtala in Boraigram Upazila at 12 noon, leaving auto-rickshaw driver Mohorram Ali dead on the spot and its five passengers injured, according to UNB.