360 students killed, 109 injured in 6 months

At least 360 students were killed and 109 others injured in 320 road accidents across Bangladesh during the first six months of 2026, according to the Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity.

The figures were released on Saturday in a statement by the organisation’s Secretary General, Mozammel Hoque Chowdhury, marking the 15th anniversary of the Mirsarai tragedy.

He said greater road safety awareness among students, teachers and guardians is essential to prevent further loss of young lives.

According to the organisation, January recorded 57 accidents that killed 57 students and injured 22 others. February saw 39 accidents, leaving 47 students dead and 11 injured.

March was the deadliest month, with 59 accidents claiming 67 student lives and injuring one person. In April, 51 accidents killed 56 students and injured 25 others.

May recorded the highest number of accidents, with 61 crashes killing 73 students and injuring 23, while June witnessed 53 accidents that left 60 students dead and 27 injured.

Recalling the Mirsarai tragedy of July 11, 2011, Mozammel said a mini-truck carrying schoolchildren plunged into a roadside ditch in Chattogram’s Mirsarai upazila, killing 45 people, most of them students, in the country’s deadliest single road accident.

He alleged that no sustained government-led road safety awareness programme has been introduced for students since the tragedy, contributing to the continued loss of young lives on the country’s roads.

To address the situation, the Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity proposed a five-point recommendation, including incorporating road safety education into school textbooks, organising monthly awareness sessions in educational institutions, installing zebra crossings and school zone signboards near schools, deploying trained road safety guards to assist students in crossing highways, and forming road safety committees in every educational institution involving both students and teachers.