5 killed as lorry hits passengers in Ctg

At least five people, including a woman and her eight-year-old son, were killed and eight others seriously injured when a lorry hit passengers standing beside the Dhaka-Chattogram highway in Sitakunda upazila, Chattogram, early Tuesday.

The accident occurred around 1:10am near the Kumira Royal Cement gate when the passengers had got off a Chattogram-bound bus that had stopped beside the highway due to a mechanical fault.

Two of the deceased were identified as Fatema, 40, and her son Rakib, eight, residents of Madan Shibashram in Netrokona. The identities of the other three victims were not immediately known.

According to eyewitnesses and fire service sources, the bus driver pulled over because of a mechanical problem. While repairs were under way, passengers got off and waited beside the highway.

A Dhaka-bound lorry then struck the passengers, leaving several injured.

Three people died at the scene. A rescue team from Kumira Fire Service rushed to the spot, rescued the injured and took them to a local hospital, where two more people later died.

Mohammad Rafiqul Islam, a rescue worker at Kumira Fire Station, said the lorry hit the passengers while they were waiting beside the highway as the bus was being repaired.

Fire service personnel and police jointly carried out the rescue operation. Highway police said efforts were under way to identify the lorry and arrest its driver.