Man dies after bus rolls over and falls into pond in Barishal

The bus driver was reckless despite being asked to slow down multiple times, supervisor Bellal says

A man has died and eight others have been injured after a bus overturned and plunged into a roadside pond in Barishal’s Gournadi Upazila.

The incident occurred in the Bezhar Station area along the Barishal-Dhaka highway around 10:30pm on Thursday, said Gournadi Highway Police Station chief Golam Rasul Molla.

The dead passenger has been identified as Selim Reza, 42, a native of Jashore’s Manirampur Upazila. He was travelling to Barishal to visit his in-laws.

Md Mejbah, another bus passenger who suffered minor injuries, said the Hanif Paribahan bus left Dhaka’s Syedabad with 30-35 passengers around 6pm. It was en route to Barishal’s Nathullahbad bus terminal.

After overtaking a couple of vehicles, the speeding bus was on a collision course with an oncoming truck when the driver veered it off the road, according to Yusuf, a witness who took part in the rescue effort after the incident.

“Unable to get back on the road, the vehicle overturned and struck a tree. The roof of the bus broke off and it fell into a roadside pond.”

Delwar, the driver of the bus, had been driving recklessly for a long time despite being warned multiple times, overtaking vehicles one after one, bus supervisor Bellal said.

Bellal fell into the pond during the incident. Along with the driver, he was rushed to Sher-e Bangla Medical College Hospital in Barishal.

Reza died on the spot. The injured were sent to Gournadi Upazila Health Complex and Sher-e Bangla Medical College Hospital, Fire Service Station Officer Bipul Hossain said.

Police have recovered the bus.