Schoolboy among two killed in Jhalakhathi road accident

Angry students and locals blocked the Barishal-Patuakhali Highway for an hour after the incident in Nalchity Upazila

Agitated students and locals blocked a highway in protest after an accident involving a bus and a van left two people, including a schoolboy, dead in Jhalakathi’s Nalchity Upazila.

The accident occurred on the Barishal-Patuakhali highway in Shimultola around 9 am on Thursday, according to Md Ataur Rahman, chief of Nalchity Police Station.

The student who died in the accident has been identified as Barishal-native Tamal Bhattacharya, a 16-year-old SSC examinee from ZA Bhutto Secondary School.

The other victim was Md Akash, 35, a resident of Nalchity Upazila, who was the van driver.

A passenger bus from Barishal ploughed into the van from the opposite direction and ran the student over as he was crossing the road, leaving him and the van driver dead on the spot, Ataur said.

Tamal’s friends and peers from school, along with angry locals, subsequently descended on the highway, demanding road safety and the installation of speed breakers.

Normal traffic resumed after an hour as law enforcers convinced the protesters to leave the scene, Ataur said.

Police seized the bus, but its driver managed to flee. Efforts are underway to take legal action over the incident, he added.