Wrong-side bus kills four in Mirpur

The continued movement of auto-rickshaws on Dhaka’s major roads, despite restrictions, has once again highlighted the city’s worsening road safety concerns, with four people

killed in a collision involving a university bus and two three-wheelers in Mirpur on Wednesday morning.

The accident occurred in the Nawabergbagh Uttarpara area of Mirpur Beribadh under Shah Ali Police Station when an Asian University of Bangladesh bus travelling on the wrong side of the road collided with two auto-rickshaws, according to police and eyewitnesses.

The deceased include Shafiqul, an auto-rickshaw driver, one of his passengers and two female pedestrians. However, the identities of all the victims could not be established immediately.

Eyewitnesses said the accident took place at around 6:30am when the bus, allegedly travelling against the direction of traffic, struck the two auto-rickshaws in the Nawabergbagh area. The drivers and passengers of the three-wheelers died at the scene.

Local residents alleged that buses operating along the Mirpur Beribadh stretch frequently travel at reckless speeds, with university buses particularly notorious for such behaviour.

The Fire Service, however, gave a slightly different account of the incident, saying a passenger bus of Asian University of Bangladesh collided head-on with an auto-rickshaw in Nawabergbagh Uttarpara at around 7:30am.

A rescue unit from Kalyanpur Fire Station reached the scene at 7:38am after receiving information about the accident and began rescue operations.

According to the Fire Service, four bodies were recovered from the scene, while no injuries were reported.

Fire Service personnel later removed the two damaged vehicles and completed the rescue operation. The bodies were sent to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital in the capital for post-mortem examinations.

Police have detained the bus driver and seized the vehicle involved in the accident for investigation.