Returning to workplace by pickup truck brings nightmare for a family
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Rafiq Mollah, 35, a resident of Faridpur’s Boalmari upazila and a liftman at a government office in Dhaka, was returning to his workplace along with family members from his ancestral home after celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr on Tuesday morning.
The liftman’s wife Sumi Begum, 23, their two children Ruhan Mollah, 5, Habib Mollah, 3, and his mother Marzina Begum, 70, were with him on the journey.
After failing to manage seats in buses amid the rush over the return journey after the holidays, they started their journey to Dhaka on a pickup truck along with other passengers.
Citing eye-witnesses, bdnews24.com said the pickup van crashed into a bus from the opposite direction when a wheel of the bus had fallen into a pothole on the road and the bus was parked unevenly on the Dhaka-Khulna highway in Faridpur Sadar’s Kanaipur around 7:45 am on Tuesday.
The accident has left all passengers of the pickup truck, along with Rafiq Mollah and his four family members, dead. The driver of the pickup truck was also killed in the accident.
Local news portals reported that the Uttara Unique Paribahan bus, which was involved in the accident, lacks updated fitness clearance, and tax token.
Besides, the other vehicle, the pickup truck, was carrying passengers despite the legal bar on goods-carrying vehicles in carrying passengers.
The families of the deceased people told bdnews24.com that the victims had hired the pickup truck after failing to find bus seats.
Faridpur Deputy Commissioner Md Kamrul Ahsan Talukder and Superintendent of Police Mohammad Morshed Alam rushed to the scene after the accident was reported.
People will continue to die on the roads if the public is not more aware and careful while travelling, said SP Mohammad Morshed Alam. Owners and transport workers have a large role to play in this, he added.
The road crash claimed 13 lives and injured 15 others. A five-member probe committee has been formed to investigate the incident. The families of the dead will receive Tk 500,000 in compensation, while those injured will receive Tk 300,000, the deputy commissioner said.