Dhaka expressway crash turns expatriate’s decade-long wait to return home into devastation

A long-planned reunion is cut short on the return journey, with survivors left critically injured and a community struggling to come to terms with the loss

After 11 years abroad, Arif Hossain was returning home from Malaysia. In Khoshalnagar village of Jhikargacha, his family had set out to receive him at the airport -- a long-awaited reunion they never got to complete.

On the way back, a private car carrying Arif, his mother, siblings and relatives crashed into a stationary truck loaded with gas cylinders on the Dhaka–Bhanga Expressway on Tuesday.

Five people were killed on the spot, and two children were left critically injured.

The dead include Arif, 30, his younger brother Rakib Hossain, 20, sister Ayesha Khatun, 35, mother Nurjahan Begum, 55, and driver Jahid Hossain, 35.

Ayesha’s children -- an 8-year-old identified only as Hussain and 3-year-old Tafsia Khatun -- survived with grave injuries and are undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

The accident occurred around 4am on Tuesday at Maliagram when the vehicle reportedly lost control and crashed into the parked truck.

In Khoshalnagar, the news brought an abrupt end to anticipation and celebration.

What had begun as a day of homecoming turned into hours of mourning as relatives gathered in disbelief.

Local Union Parishad member Moslem Ali said the family had been preparing for Arif’s return with keen anticipation.

“He was coming home for the first time in 11 years,” he said.

Jhikargachha Police said officers had been sent to the family home, while relatives travelled to the crash site and hospitals as the scale of the loss became clear.