‘Students were at the door of the bus, one electrocuted while trying to save another'

The bodies of the three IUT students have been handed to their relatives, authorities say

Those who were at the door of the BRTC double-decker picnic bus transporting the students of Gazipur’s Islamic University of Technology, or IUT, suffered the most injuries from electrocution, according to a teacher.

The incident occurred when the bus came into contact with a high-voltage power line in Gazipur’s Sreepur Upazila while heading to the ‘Matir Maya Eco Resort’ in Uttar Pelaid village on Saturday.

Three students died in the electrocution and six other injured were taken to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, or MMCH.

The dead have been identified as Mozammel Hossain Nayeem, 23, Zubayer Alam Saqib, 22, and Mobtasin Rahman Mahin, 22, all third-year mechanical engineering students of IUT located in Gazipur’s Board Bazar.

IUT lecturer Muhtasim Mashfy said, "The blissful journey turned into a tragedy in a matter of moments. This was not expected by anyone.”

"The vehicle was electrocuted when the students were holding the bus handles. Saqib suffered injuries when he tried to save another victim Mahin. We have yet to determine the cause of Nayeem’s death."

“How can we accept such deaths?” the lecturer asked.

IUT authorities, including its Vice-Chancellor Mohammad Rafiqul Islam, visited the injured at the MMCH in the afternoon.

The vice-chancellor told the media at that time, "It is a very tragic incident. If such a thing happens on the street, then you understand whose responsibility it is. I don't want to blame anyone directly.”

"It is normal for students to travel and join picnics. What to do if an individual does not have security of life even while sitting or standing in a vehicle?”

"The authorities will have to keep an eye so that the roads remain clear, the electricity wires are high enough and do not leak to prevent such deaths in the future.”

Asked whether double-decker buses were allowed to ply on such narrow roads, the vice-chancellor said: "I don't know why those who organised the picnic took double-decker buses and whether they were allowed to ply on that road or not.”

“BRTC should know this as their buses are available for rent."

BODIES HANDED OVER WITHOUT AUTOPSY

The bodies of the three students were handed over to their relatives without an autopsy, following a request from their families and the university authorities, said Brig Gen Md Golam Ferdous, director of MMCH.

Of the dead, Nayeem hailed from Feni, Saqib from Rajshahi, and Mahin from Rangpur Sadar.

Two injured aged 22 – Kabidul Islam Alif from Dhaka’s Kazipara and Nafiz Alam Khan from the capital’s Kamrangirchar – have been transferred to Ahsania Mission Cancer and General Hospital in the afternoon, the MMCH director said.