Madaripur crash kills man's 'great Singapore dream’

At least 19 passengers were killed and 30 others injured in the crash that dashed the dreams of many families

Mostak Ahmed, a husband and the father of a five-year-old boy, had a dream.

Just like millions of Bangladeshis, he wanted to move overseas, particularly to the Southeast Asian island nation of Singapore, to find work and provide a better life for his boy, Tasmim Ahmed.

In pursuit of that dream, Mostak hopped on the Dhaka-bound Emad Paribahan coach from Khulna on Sunday morning for some follow-up work he was required to complete in the capital.

That dream was shattered when the coach veered out of control on the Bangabandhu Expressway at 7:45 am in Shibchar’s Kutubpur area in Madaripur, killing 19 people and injuring 30.

Mostak, a resident of Gopalganj’s Bangram, was one of the ill-fated passengers on the coach.

“My husband wanted to move to Singapore. He had to get his fingerprints recorded in Dhaka. That’s why he was on that bus,” said an inconsolable Jonaki Begum, Mostak’s widow.

Tasmim, Mostak's son, was equally distraught when he learned of his father's death at Shibchar Upazila Health Complex.

Like Jonaki and Tasmim, the corridors of the hospital were filled with bereaved family members of the deceased.

Masud Alam, superintendent of Madaripur police, said the initial investigation indicates that the driver lost control of the coach's, which was running way over the speed limit, when a tire burst.

The out-of-control coach crashed through the roadside preventive rail and rolled into a ditch 20 metres below. The impact completely crushed the front side of the coach.

The Madaripur police chief said they were handing the bodies of the victims over to their families as soon as their identities were confirmed.

Meanwhile, the district’s administrator, Rahima Khatun, confirmed that her office would coordinate disbursing a one-off compensation of Tk 25,000 to the bereaved families for funeral expenses.