2 die as pick-up van hits autorickshaw in Barishal

At least four others were injured when the autorickshaw was severely damaged, police say

At least two people, including a child, have died after a pick-up van hit an autorickshaw in Barishal’s Bakerganj.

Another four people were injured in the accident.

The accident occurred around 8:30am at Bakarkathi on the Barishal-Patuakhali highway on Friday, said Afzal Hossain, chief of Bakerganj Police Station.

The dead were identified as four-year-old Md Zayan, the son of Mejbahuddin Apu from Bagdiya village, and 30-year-old autorickshaw driver Saidul Islam from Chardi village.

The injured were identified as Zayan’s mother Mahfuza Begum, 35, Mizanur Rahman, 40, from Kalashkathi village, Md Shaheen, 24, from Bajita village and Kauser Howladar, 28, from Bagdiya village.

Mahfuza was sent to Dhaka for advanced medical treatment as she was in a critical condition.

”A pick-up van was running to Barishal from Bakerganj Cantonment. Two autorickshaws clashed with the pick-up van at Bakarkathi,” said Afzal.

“One of the autorickshaws was severely damaged, injuring six passengers in total. The injured were taken to the Barishal Sher-E-Bangla Medical College Hospital, where two of them died under hospital care.”

Legal measures will be taken once the families of the dead and injured file a complaint, the police officer said.

The bodies of the autorickshaw driver and the child were kept at the morgue, said Ward Master Abul Kalam of the hospital.

Zayan’s uncle Touhidur Rahman said Zayan’s father lived with his family in Dhaka and the family was travelling to Bakerganj for Eid holidays when the accident occurred.

The damaged autorickshaws were still at the accident site, but the pick-up van fled afterwards, said Sub-Inspector Md Nasir of Bakerganj Police Station.