BSS, Rangpur :Thirteen people were killed and 66 others injured in a tragic road accident in Ekorchali Bazar area on the Rangpur-Dinajpur highway in Taraganj upazila of the district yesterday.The accident occurred when two passenger buses-Dinajpur-bound ‘Tripti Paribahan’ from Rangpur and Thakurgaon-bound ‘Saymon Exclusive’ from Comilla-collided head-on at 10.30 am. Eight passengers of the two ill-fated vehicles were killed on the spot while five critically injured people succumbed to their injuries at Rangpur Medical College Hospital (RMCH). Sixty-six other injured people have been undergoing treatment at RMCH now. Of the injured, the condition of eight people are critical, hospital and police sources said.Police, Fire Service & Civil Defense personnel from different fire service stations rushed to the spot, rescued the bodies and sent the injured people to Rangpur Medical College Hospital (RMCH). The severely damaged two buses have also been rescued. Among the deceased nine people were identified as Zinnat Ara, 45, Khabirul Islam, 30, Mohsin Ali, 50, Yusuf Ali, 35, Sabed Ali, 55, Motiar Rahman, 42, Abu Taleb Mian, 28, Abdus Sattar, 35, and Hedaun Sarker, 42, of different areas under Dinajpur, Thakurgaon and Panchagarh districts.The identities of four more deceased could not be known till filling the report.DIG for Rangpur Range Khondker Golam Faruk visited the spot and monitored the rescue operations.Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Taraganj Thana Abdul Latif said a total of 13 passengers have died, conditions of some other are still critical at RMCH. Deputy Commissioner (DC) Rahat Anwar visited the injured persons at RMCH, enquired about their conditions and asked the authorities concerned for providing the best possible treatments to them. Talking to BSS, the DC said he has already distributed Taka 5,000 among the relatives of each of the 13 deceased people and Taka 3,000 among each of the 66 injured people as government assistance.
