At least seven people were killed in a head-on collision between a bus and a CNG-run autorickshaw in Gachtala area under Mymensingh’s Tarakanda upazila on Sunday.
Confirming the matter to Bangla Tribune, Tarakanda police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) said a Netrokona-bound passenger bus coming from Dhaka collided head-on with a CNG-powered autorickshaw around 1:30pm, crushing the autorickshaw and killing everyone on board including its driver.
Upon receiving the news, the local fire service team and police rushed to the spot to recover the bodies of the deceased.
Police have yet to identify the victims, said the OC, adding that the bodies would be taken to the morgue of Mymensingh Medical Colleg
Road accidents in Bangladesh
Road accidents continue to rise in Bangladesh with the country seeing 439 deaths in 417 accidents last month, according to Road Safety Foundation (RSF), an organisation working to ensure safer roads.
RSF said 383 people were killed in 314 accidents in October last.
Also Read- Road accidents claim 11 lives across the country
Nirapad Sarak Chai, a road safety advocacy group, in a report said that 5,227 people were killed in 4,702 road accidents in Bangladesh last year.
In a report released in February this year, the World Bank said Bangladesh needs to invest an estimated extra $7.8 billion over the next decade to halve its road crash fatalities.
The report pointed to the high death rate on Bangladesh’s roads caused by chronic lack of investment in systemic, targeted, and sustained road safety programs.
A World Bank report published in February this year, said Bangladesh needs to invest an estimated extra $7.8 billion over the next decade to halve its road crash fatalities.
‘Delivering Road Safety in Bangladesh’ pointed to the high death rate on Bangladesh’s roads caused by chronic lack of investment in systemic, targeted, and sustained road safety programmes.
It also identifies relevant investment priorities to reverse the trend, reports UNB.
The report said annual road crash deaths per capita in Bangladesh are twice the average rate for high- income countries and five times that of the best performing countries in the world. It highlights that children and working age population are most affected by road crash injuries in Bangladesh.
