19 Lives Lost and 25 Injured in Bangladesh Bus Accident

At least 19 people were killed and 25 others injured when a speeding bus veered off a major highway in Bangladesh and fell into a ditch Sunday, police said.

“The death toll has risen to 19,” local police chief Masood Alam told AFP following the plane crash in the capital. “The death toll has risen to 19 in the southern district of Chebchar, about 80 kilometers from the capital, Dhaka.

Another local police official, Anwar Hussain, said that number may rise further because some of the injured passengers are in critical condition.

Hussain said the bus, carrying more than 40 passengers, fell about nine meters (30 feet) into a roadside ditch after puncturing the railings of the newly built Padma River Highway Bridge.

He added that the driver who died apparently lost control at 8:00 am (0200 GMT) after the tire of the bus exploded, adding that the cause of the accident is under investigation.

Road accidents are common in Bangladesh, often blamed on reckless driving, outdated vehicles and poor safety rules, and kill thousands each year.

According to the Bangladesh Passenger Welfare Association, 9,951 people were killed in road accidents in Bangladesh last year.

In 2018, a series of massive student protests, sparked by the deaths of two teenagers, forced the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to agree to raise the maximum prison sentence to five years from three for causing death by reckless driving.