Patient dies in ambulance

A woman reportedly died inside an ambulance after being trapped for nearly four hours in a massive traffic jam on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway while being taken to Dhaka for treatment.

The patient, Amirunnesa, suffered a heart attack on Friday, according to her relative Tarek Al Hasan.

The family left for Dhaka by ambulance at around 8pm. However, after reaching Daudkandi at about 11pm, the ambulance became stuck in severe congestion and remained almost stationary for nearly four hours. Amirunnesa reportedly died inside the ambulance at around 3:30am on Saturday.

The gridlock began after repair work started at Ashariarchar in Narayanganj around 8am on Friday. The resulting tailback stretched nearly 50km to Eliotganj in Daudkandi and continued until Saturday noon, leaving thousands of passengers and drivers stranded.

Passengers said the prolonged congestion caused severe hardship, particularly for women, children and elderly people who had to endure intense heat. Many also struggled to find food and drinking water during the long wait.

Passengers travelling on Mujahid Paribahan from Chattogram to Bagerhat said they became stuck at Eliotganj at around 2:30am. By 8am, they had managed to travel only about 10km to Amirabad.

Ripon Mia, a driver of Surma Paribahan, said the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway is one of the busiest roads in the country and authorities should take effective measures to control traffic whenever repair work is carried out.

“The Dhaka-Chattogram Highway is one of the busiest roads in the country. Whenever repair work is carried out here, effective measures should be taken in advance to control traffic congestion,” he said.
Mohammad Shamim, inspector of Bhaberchar Highway Police, said the congestion developed after repair work began on the Dhaka-bound lane at Ashariarchar.

“The traffic jam occurred after repair work began on the Dhaka-bound lane at Ashariarchar. Highway Police are working to reduce the suffering of passengers and drivers,” he said.

Highway Police said traffic congestion in Narayanganj and Munshiganj began easing on Saturday morning, although queues remained at toll plazas in Munshiganj and Daudkandi.

At around 1pm, Premchand Ray, chief of Daudkandi Crossing Police, said vehicles were still moving intermittently and police were working to keep traffic flowing.