Home
+
Published : 03 May 2026, 06:09 PM
Fire Service and Civil Defence officers suspect that driver fatigue from a long overnight journey may have caused the deadly head-on collision in Sylhet’s South Surma that left eight people dead.
The crash occurred early Sunday at Telibazar Bridge, where a pickup carrying construction workers collided head-on with an oncoming jackfruit-laden truck.
Fire Service Sylhet Station Deputy Director Md Shafiqul Islam Bhuiyan, who visited the scene, said the truck driver had been on the road throughout the night.
“The truck carrying jackfruit was coming to Sylhet after driving all night. A pickup van carrying labourers was heading towards Sunamganj from the city. At Telibazar, they collided head-on. Four died on the spot and four more died after being taken to hospital,” he said.
“In this case, it seems the driver was asleep after driving all night. On such a straight road, this kind of accident should not have happened,” he said.
He also raised the possibility of whether the assistant driver had been behind the wheel.
However, South Surma Police chief Md Ashrafuzzaman rejected the idea that a helper was driving.
“A heavily loaded truck is not supposed to be driven by a helper. We have detained the helper. He told police that the driver himself was driving. Generally, helpers do not drive such vehicles on the road,” he said.
Police and Fire Service officials said, around 6am, about 20 construction workers were travelling in the pickup carrying construction equipment.
Workers said all passengers were thrown from the vehicle. Four died on the spot, while four more died after being taken to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital. Others remain under treatment.
The dead include two brothers Azir Uddin, 35, and Amir Uddin, 22, from Sunamganj’s Bishwambharpur, Nargis Akter, 45, Mosha Munni Begum, 26, Nuruj Ali, 60, Faridul, a 35-year-old identified by a single name, Badarul Amin, 40, Pandab Biswas, 20, and Badruzzaman.
The injured include Mohammad Alamgir, 32, Torab Ullah, 60, a 40-year-old known only as Ramin, Afroz Mia, 40, Rabu Akter, 25, Hafiza Begum, 30, and Raja Mia, 45.
