CCTV camera catches cars racing inside Bangabandhu Tunnel

Police were informed about the violation of traffic rules after the CCTV camera recorded the dangerous race

Cars were found racing past the speed limit inside the Bangabandhu Tunnel under the Karnaphuli River in Chattogram on the very first day it was opened to traffic.

Police and higher authorities were informed about the violation of traffic rules after the CCTV camera recorded the dangerous race.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the tunnel, the first of its kind in Bangladesh. Later, the tunnel was opened to traffic at 6 am on Sunday.

The race was caught on video on Sunday night. Footage of the race went viral on social media and was shared multiple times on different Facebook pages. The video showed 10 cars - five black, two red, one blue, one white, and one grey. They were speeding inside the tunnel and overtaking one another.

"We have collected the video of the cars. They were seen practising different stunts on the road in the China Economic Zone," said Tanveer Rifa, assistant engineer of the tunnel.

"Then they entered the tunnel from the Anowara end and were speeding. The CCTV camera caught it. They were overtaking each other and performing stunts inside the tunnel."

Tanveer said the police and higher authorities gave assurances of taking action once the cars were identified.

"They drove beyond the speed limit and there could have been serious accidents inside the tunnel if the drivers lost their control over the vehicles."

In a separate incident, a Prado car hit the barrier adjacent to the undervehicle scanners at the Anowara end toll plaza around 3 am on Sunday.

“The driver unintentionally hit the railing near the scanning machine, damaging the barriers on both sides. It was already mended by the morning and there wasn’t any major damage,” Tanveer said.

Tk 1.1 million was collected in toll from 6 am to 10 pm on Monday, he said.