Death toll from Rangpur bus-minibus collision rises to seven; probe opens

Fatalities from a collision between a BRTC bus and a minibus in Rangpur have gone up to seven.

The authorities have launched an investigation into the road crash that left at least 18 others injured in the city on Sunday.

The incident occurred at the CO Bazar on the Rangpur-Dinajpur Highway around 12:30pm, Rangpur Additional Superintendent of Police Saifur Rahman Saif said. 

The dead people have been identified as Noor Banu, 44, and Fulki Begum, 55, and Omijon Nesa, 46, from Nilphamari, Rokhsana Begum, 24, from Gaibandha, Shahin Mia, 12, and Sumi Akhter, 24, from Panchagarh, and Abdur Rahman, 70, from Thakurgaon.

The injured have been admitted to the Rangpur Medical College Hospital.

A Panchagarh-bound BRTC bus from Bogura hit head-on the minibus, which was on way from Thakurgaon to Rangpur, Additional SP Saif said.

Both the buses fell from the highway, leaving four dead on the spot, while three others died at the hospital, the police officer said.

Police were checking whether the drivers and their helpers were among the injured or had fled. 

Four of the injured were in critical condition, Shafiqul Islam, an assistant director at the hospital, said.

The district administration has formed a three-member committee headed by Additional District Magistrate Rashidul Mannaf Kabir, and one representative each from police and the BRTA, according to Rangpur Acting Deputy Commissioner Ruhul Amin.

The committee has been asked to report the findings within seven working days, he said.

The authorities would provide the victims with money, he added.