Staff Reporter :
At least four people have lost their lives and 21 others have been injured in two separate road accidents on the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway in Munshiganj, police reported.
The first incident occurred in Sreenagar on the Dhaka-bound lane around 5 am on Friday when a bus collided with a vehicle in front of it.
The crash resulted in the deaths of the bus driver and his assistant, while five other individuals sustained injuries. The identities of the deceased and injured victims are yet to be disclosed, according to Hasara Highway Police Station chief Abdul Qader Jilani.
The second accident took place on Thursday night, when an Abdullah Paribahan bus crashed into a stationary covered van on the Mawa-bound lane at Sirajdikhan’s Nimtala.
The impact severely damaged the bus, killing two people, including the driver’s helper. Sixteen passengers were injured in the crash.
The deceased victims were identified as bus helper Md Jibon from Kolligaon village in Sreenagar Upazila and passenger Md Raihan from Debipura village in Sirajdikhan Upazila.
The bodies have been taken to the Sreenagar Upazila Health Complex for post-mortem, while the police have seized the covered van involved in the accident. However, the driver of the van managed to flee the scene.
The Dhaka-Mawa Expressway, the country’s first expressway stretching from Dhaka to Faridpur’s Bhanga, has become notorious for frequent accidents. On December 27, a tragic incident at the Dhaleshwari Toll Plaza claimed the lives of six people from two families, and left four others critically injured when a bus ran them over.
Recent statistics from the Munshiganj Road Department reveal that 140 people have lost their lives and 1,445 have been injured in 990 accidents on the expressway from June 2022 to the present. Over the past year, Hasara Highway Police reported 39 fatalities in 68 accidents, with more than 150 others injured.
Authorities continue to investigate the causes of these incidents, with an ongoing focus on enhancing safety measures to curb the rising number of accidents on the expressway.
