No less than 19 individuals have been killed and 25 others injured when a rushing bus veered off a significant expressway in Bangladesh and plunged right into a ditch Sunday, police mentioned.
“The demise toll has climbed to 19. No less than 12 individuals have been critically injured. They’ve been despatched to Dhaka Medical School Hospital within the capital,” native police chief Masud Alam advised the Agence France-Presse (AFP) after the crash within the southern district of Shibchar, round 80 kilometers away from the capital Dhaka.
That toll might rise additional as a few of the injured passengers are in crucial situation, mentioned one other native police official, Anowar Hossain.
The bus, carrying greater than 40 passengers, fell about 9 meters (30 ft) right into a roadside ditch after breaking by way of the railing of the newly-built Padma river bridge expressway, Hossain mentioned.
The driving force, who was killed, appeared to have misplaced management of the automobile at 8:00 am (0200 GMT) after the tire of the bus burst, he mentioned, including that the reason for the accident was beneath investigation.
Street accidents are widespread in Bangladesh, usually blamed on reckless driving, outdated autos and poor security guidelines, and killing 1000’s annually.
In keeping with the Bangladeshi passengers’ welfare affiliation, a document 9,951 individuals have been killed in highway accidents in Bangladesh final yr.
In 2018, a collection of large pupil protests, sparked by the demise of two youngsters, compelled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s authorities to approve elevating the utmost jail time to 5 years from three for inflicting demise by rash driving.