Six microbus passengers die in collision with cattle truck

At least six people have been killed and eight others injured after a cattle truck crashed into a microbus on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway near Feni.

The accident occurred in the Sultana Filling Station area of Muhuriganj around 3am on Monday, said Muhuriganj Highway Police Outpost Sub Inspector Md Mahbub Alam said.

Two of the dead are children and three are women, he said. All of them are members of the same family.

The injured have been admitted to Feni Sadar Hospitan and a hospital at Baroiarhat in Chattogram’s Meersarai.

“We have learned that the family was headed to Chattogram’s Shah Amanat Airport to meet a family member arriving from abroad.”

But police have yet to confirm the names and identities of the dead.

According to Feni Fire Service and Civil Defence Senior Station Officer Md Kabir Hossain, a truck from Teknaf carrying cattle for the Eid market in Feni crashed head-on into the microbus after it had passed the Sultana Filling Station. Both vehicles were heavily damaged, he said.

Immediately after the accident locals managed to rescue the injured truck driver, his assistant and the cattle trader and admit them to a Baroiarhat hospital.

Fire service personnel then arrived at the scene and began to conduct rescue operations.

They recovered six bodies from the wreckage of the microbus, Kabir Hossain said.

The accident led to traffic congestion on both sides of the highway, said Muhuriganj Highway police Outpost SI Md Mahbub.

The congestion began to abate around 6am after the two vehicles were removed from the road.

Seventeen cows were on the truck involved in the accident, SI Mahbub said.