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Published : 25 May 2026, 09:00 AM
The 15 passengers killed when a rod-laden freight truck overturned in Tangail's Kalihati Upazila were hawkers by trade who had climbed aboard the vehicle in Feni and Chattogram on their way home to celebrate Eid with their relatives.
But the risky trip has led to the loss of their lives, turning Eid joy to mourning for their families.
Ataur Rahman, station officer-in-charge of the Elenga Fire Service, said the accident occurred around 4am on Monday near Saratail of the Dhaka-Tangail-Jamuna Bridge Highway.
Later, the bodies of the deceased and 10 others injured in the crash were recovered and sent to Tangail General Hospital.
Neither the police nor the Fire Service could immediately identify the victims.
However, an accident survivor named Rabbani said most of the passengers in the truck were from the Manda Upazila of Naogaon and the Chapainawabganj district.
They worked as hawkers in Chattogram and Feni.
Jamuna Bridge East Police Station chief Khandaker Fuad Ruhani said, “The vehicle involved in the accident was heading towards northern Bangladesh. The rescue operation has been completed after removing the vehicle in the accident. Traffic has been restored to normal on the highway.”
Asked to describe what happened, another passenger on the truck said it suddenly veered out of control and overturned. Within moments, screams and wailing rent the air.
“One of my brothers-in-law died. I was in the vehicle myself. We were inside and there was a polythene tarp on top. How it happened, no one can say. I fell over the guard rail. I didn’t do it myself – Allah pushed me out. I turned and saw the others had been crushed.”
He said about 18 passengers boarded the truck together in Feni while several more boarded from several other places, including Dhaka. The survivor said most of the victims were hawkers by trade and sold a range of products, including cosmetics.
Another passenger said that he hailed from Naogaon’s Manda Thana. Several others from the same area were on the truck, he said.
“The accident occurred due to a brake failure or some other problem. There were 18 of us. People from the same Thana died. We were sleeping when the accident happened.”
Several passengers on the truck say they believe the truck driver “fell asleep”, leading to the accident. The driver and his assistant fled immediately after the crash.
Initially, locals rescued the injured and sent them to the hospital. About an hour after the incident, members of the Elenga Fire Service went to recover the bodies of the dead.
Tangail Additional Superintendent of Police (Gopalpur Circle) Fauzia Habib Khan said work is underway to identify the dead.
In addition, law enforcers are taking measures to halt the transportation of passengers in open freight trucks.
