A car carrying an entire family is crushed by a bus. Orphaned boy the sole survivor

Returning from Eid holidays in Lakshmipur, the family’s private car is struck by a Chattogram-bound bus at Burichang

Hafiz Abrar, 14, watched in horror as a private car carrying his parents, siblings, and driver was crushed by a speeding bus on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway, leaving him as the sole survivor.

The family had spent Eid at maternal relatives’ homes in Chandraganj, Lakshmipur, before setting off back to Dhaka.

The collision occurred around 6pm on Thursday in Kalakchua, Burichang, according to Maynamati Highway Crossing Police chief Abdul Momin.

Witnesses said the car had stopped at Miami Hotel in Kalakchua for a meal break.

Shortly after resuming the journey towards Dhaka, the Chattogram-bound Star Line bus smashed into the private car.

The driver, Jamal Hossain, 50, died instantly at the scene.

Abrar’s parents -- Mufti Abdul Momin, 52, a scholar at Mohammadia Madrasa in Mohammadpur, and Dil Afroze Akter, 45 -- along with his siblings Labiba, 21, and 6-year-old Arshad, both identified by single names, were rushed to Eastern Medical College Hospital and Army Medical College Hospital.

Doctors declared all four dead on arrival.

Abrar’s maternal uncle Mufti Javed Hossain said another brother, 25-year-old known only as Huzaifa, was spared the ill fate as he had remained at relatives’ homes.

The family had also visited their ancestral home in Sonai Muri, Noakhali, before returning to Dhaka.

At the Maynamati Highway Crossing Police Station, Abrar remained silent and dazed, standing beside his uncle as officers documented the incident.

Police have seized the bus, but its driver and assistant remain at large. Chief Abdul Momin said the accident occurred as the private car was travelling to Dhaka, while the bus was heading towards Chattogram.

Highway police are investigating the collision.