Staff Reporter:
At least 15 people have been killed in separate road accidents across several districts of Bangladesh during the Eid-ul-Azha holiday, as celebrations turned into tragedy on the highways.
The victims included people travelling home for Eid, youths going out after prayers, and passengers returning to Dhaka. Nine of the deceased were motorcyclists, while the fatalities also included three children and two teenagers.
The accidents occurred between Wednesday evening and Thursday afternoon in Gopalganj, Dinajpur, Faridpur, Narsingdi, Patuakhali, Madaripur and Narail.
The deadliest incident took place in Gopalganj on Thursday afternoon when a bus collided head-on with a motorcycle on the Dhaka–Khulna highway, killing five people and injuring at least 25 others. Police said two passengers died on the bus while three others, including children, were killed in the crash and subsequent chaos.
In Patuakhali, two 16-year-old boys were killed while riding a motorcycle after Eid prayers when their vehicle collided with an autorickshaw. One of them died on the spot while the other succumbed to injuries on the way to hospital.
In Narsingdi, two young men died in a head-on collision between two motorcycles, while a third rider is receiving treatment at a specialist hospital in Dhaka.
Faridpur saw another fatal crash on the Dhaka–Barishal highway where two motorcyclists were killed and two others injured in a head-on collision late Wednesday night.
In Dinajpur’s Ghoraghat, two children were killed when a CNG-run autorickshaw crashed into a parked truck early Thursday. Their mothers were also injured.
A separate accident in Narail killed an 18-year-old motorcyclist after a collision with a bus, while another passenger was critically injured.
In Madaripur, a 55-year-old man died after falling from a moving bus near the Padma Bridge area.
Police have launched investigations into the incidents. Authorities said most victims were motorcyclists and urged caution on highways amid heavy Eid traffic.
