From bridal welcome to burying the dead: Wedding joy turns into grief as road crash kills 14

What began as a celebration to welcome a new bride turned into a scene of unimaginable grief, as a newlywed couple and several of their relatives were killed in a tragic road accident on the Khulna–Mongla highway.

Dressed in a Benarasi sari with henna still bright on her hands, the body of the bride, Marjia Akter Mitu, lay in the hospital morgue — the same attire meant for the start of her new life. One by one, her ornaments were removed as her lifeless body rested beside that of her husband, Ahadur Rahman Sabbir.

Officer-in-Charge Jafar Ahmed of the Katakhali Highway Police Station said the microbus had 15 passengers, including the driver. "Fourteen people were killed in the tragic accident, while one injured passenger is undergoing treatment," he added.

Meanwhile, police confirmed that one person survived the crash and is currently receiving treatment at Khulna Medical College Hospital.

Mitu, from Naksa village in Amadi Union of Koyra Upazila in Khulna District, was married to Sabbir, a resident of Mongla in Bagerhat District, on Wednesday night.

The following day, around 12:15pm yesterday (12 March), the bride, groom and 13 relatives set off in a microbus for the groom's home in Mongla.

However, the vehicle never reached its destination. Near the Belai Bridge area on the Khulna–Mongla Highway, the microbus collided head-on with a bus belonging to the Bangladesh Navy. In the devastating crash, 14 of the 15 passengers in the microbus died on the spot.

Among the deceased were the groom Sabbir; his father Abdur Razzak; brother Abdullah Sani; sister Umme Sumaiya Oishi and her son Samiul Islam Fahim; sister-in-law Farhana Siddika Putul, wife of elder brother Ashraful Alam Jony, along with their children Alif, Arfa and Iram.

The bride Mitu was also among those killed, along with her younger sister Lamia Akter, grandmother Rashida Begum and maternal grandmother Anowara Begum.

The microbus driver, Naim, from Singerbunia village in Perikhali Union of Rampal Upazila in Bagerhat, also died in the accident.

Nine members of the groom's family are being buried in Mongla, while four from the bride's family have already been laid to rest in Naksa village of Koyra. The driver Naim will be buried in his home area in Rampal.

Speaking to reporters, Sajjad Sardar, younger brother of the deceased father Abdur Razzak, said biers were brought from nine nearby mosques. After ritual washing, the nine bodies were placed on them ahead of their funeral prayers, which will be held after Jummah prayers at the upazila parishad premises before burial at the municipal graveyard.