Staff reporter :
At least eight persons including three women and two motorcyclists were killed and 23 others seriously injured in a tragic incident when a bus plunged into a roadside ditch near the Dhuldi Bridge on the Dhaka-Khulna Highway in Faridpur Sadar upazila on Saturday afternoon.
Identities of the deceased could not be known instantly, said Nural Amin Dulal, Senior Officer of Faridpur Fire Service and Civil Defence.
Local sources said, while giving side to a motorbike, the Gopalganj-bound bus of Comfort Line Company from Dhaka near the Dhuldi Bridge turned upside down and fell into the ditch around 2:00pm.
The motorcycle also plunged into the ditch and went under the bus, leaving five passengers of the bus and the bike rider dead on the spot, Nural Amin added.
The injured were taken to Faridpur Medical College Hospital where two succumbed to their injuries, the official said.
Autul Sarker, Deputy Commissioner of Faridpur said that the bodies had been sent to the hospital morgue for autopsy. The number of fatalities may rise, he added.
Meanwhile, a bridge collapsed on the Shanir Akhra-Dholaipar in the city’s Shanir Akhra area on Saturday morning. As a result, vehicular movement went shut for indefinite time.
Local sources said that when a cement-laden truck was crossing the bridge in front of RS Shopping Complex around 8am, suddenly it collapsed and the truck fell into a roadside ditch.
The truck was carrying 200 sacks of cement, the shopping complex owner Jahirul Islam said.
“We are trying to restore vehicular movement on the road as soon as possible,” said Traffic, East Division, Demra zone, TI Biplab Bhaumik.
