4 killed, 30 injured as bus catches fire after crashing into motorcycle, auto-rickshaw in Cumilla
"The bus driver had been repeatedly stopping to pick up passengers, leading to arguments with passengers. Following arguments, the driver began driving recklessly,” one of the passengers alleges.
Four people were killed and at least 30 others injured after a bus overturned and caught fire following a collision with a motorcycle and an auto-rickshaw in Cumilla's Daudkandi upazila today (9 January).
The incident occurred around 12:30pm in the Baniapara area on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway, triggering severe traffic congestion along a five-kilometre stretch from Baniapara to Gouripur, according to police.
The deceased was identified as a 16-month-old child named Hossain, who was travelling on the bus with his family, motorcycle rider Md Shamim Hossain, 38 and his son Nadif Hossain, 7. The identity of another female bus passenger, killed in the fire, could not be confirmed immediately.
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Confirming the incident, Daudkandi Highway Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Iqbal Bahar Majumder told The Business Standard, "After the fire was extinguished, we recovered the bodies from the scene. Traffic has now returned to normal."
"Efforts are underway to arrest the bus driver," the OC added.
Daudkandi Fire Service and Civil Defence Station Officer Md Ershad said firefighters brought the blaze under control and recovered four bodies from inside the burnt bus.
According to police and eyewitnesses, a passenger bus of CDM Paribahan rammed into a motorcycle and an auto-rickshaw before overturning on the road. The bus then caught fire shortly afterwards.
The injured were rescued and taken to Daudkandi Upazila Health Complex, as well as hospitals in Cumilla and Dhaka, for treatment.
Daudkandi Highway Police Sub-Inspector Sandip Saha told TBS that the bus was travelling at excessive speed. "It is initially suspected that after overturning, the bus fell onto the motorcycle, and fuel leaking from the motorcycle's tank may have caused the fire."
Sumon Mia, father of the deceased Hossain, said they were travelling to a relative's house in Debidwar, Cumilla.
He alleged that the bus driver had been repeatedly stopping to pick up passengers, leading to arguments with passengers. "Following arguments, the driver began driving recklessly, eventually crashing into the auto-rickshaw and motorcycle before the bus overturned and caught fire."
