South Asia : At least 15 killed as overloaded truck overturns on Bangladesh highway during Eid travel.
A deadly highway accident during Eid travel has renewed public concern over overloaded vehicles, passenger safety, enforcement gaps and accountability on Bangladesh’s roads.
Public safety focus
Eid travel, overloaded transport and the cost of unsafe mobility
The report documents a fatal crash on the Dhaka-Tangail highway and frames the incident within Bangladesh’s wider pattern of holiday travel risks, road safety enforcement and transport accountability.
Fatalities
At least 15 killed
Injured
Six seriously injured
Location
Dhaka-Tangail highway
Context
Eid holiday travel
In Bangladesh, 15 people were killed and six others seriously injured after a rod-laden truck overturned on the Dhaka-Tangail highway on Monday, 25 May, while they were travelling home for the Eid holidays. It is a district located in the north-western part of the country.
The accident took place in the Saratail Southpara area of the highway. The identities of the deceased have not yet been disclosed by Police Headquarters or the local police. The injured are currently undergoing treatment in hospital.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Jamuna Bridge East Police Station in Tangail, Khandaker Fuad Ruhani, said that the bodies of the deceased have been kept in the morgue.
The bodies will be handed over to the families after they arrive and identify them.
Police and the fire service said that the passengers had been returning home by truck to spend the Eid holidays. Primarily, they had chosen this mode of travel to reduce transport costs.
An organisation working on passenger rights says the state and the police are responsible for the accident.
However, police say passengers were being transported secretly on the truck. They say action is being taken in connection with the incident.
21 people trapped beneath the truck, driver and assistant absconding
After speaking with the injured and other passengers on the truck, law enforcement agencies learned that most of the passengers were from Manda Upazila in Naogaon.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Manda Police Station, Khorshed Alam, confirmed this information.
He said, “We have learned through various sources that most of the deceased are from Manda Upazila. It is being heard that at least 13 of them may be from Manda.”
“We still do not know the identities of the deceased, but we have heard that they were involved in the hair business. We have learned that they were returning to Naogaon from Chattogram for the Eid holidays,” he added.
“The passengers were sitting on top of those rods.”
Meanwhile, Ataur Rahman, in-charge of the Elenga Fire Station, said they received news of the accident at 4:05am on Monday, 25 May, and then went to the scene.
“When we arrived, we saw the truck overturned. The truck was loaded with rods. The passengers were sitting on top of those rods. After speaking with survivors and eyewitnesses, we learned that there were 25-26 passengers on the truck. Some of them were thrown off and injured. The remaining 21 people were trapped beneath the rods.”
With the assistance of locals and police, everyone was rescued from beneath the truck. However, 15 of those rescued were declared dead at the scene. Their bodies were handed over to Jamuna Bridge East Police Station, and the remaining six were admitted to Tangail Medical College Hospital.
Fire service official Ataur Rahman further said that they had initially learned that almost everyone on the truck was from the Naogaon, Rajshahi, and Chapainawabganj areas.
When asked whether the cause of the accident had been identified, he said it is assumed that the truck lost control. It is possible that the driver had fallen asleep or there was a mechanical fault.
“Because the truck did not collide with any other vehicle. There are no signs of impact at the front or rear. Those who were inside the vehicle are also saying that it did not hit anything else.”
However, the driver and the driver’s assistant fled immediately after the incident.
“I heard that the driver and the driver’s assistant were not seriously injured. The passengers were injured because they were sitting on top of the rods at the back,” he added.
Deaths during Eid travel holidays — who is responsible?
Local Tangail journalist Abdullah Al Noman, after speaking with passengers on the truck at the scene, said they had boarded the truck because it was cheaper.
A passenger named Rabanni said, “We were asleep. Suddenly we saw that the truck had overturned. After that, I cannot say anything more. There were 22 passengers on the truck.”
Another passenger on the truck, Tarikul Islam, said, “The truck was going to Manda Upazila in Naogaon district. We boarded from Alankar in Chattogram to travel to Chapainawabganj. Mainly, bus fares were being charged at 1,700 to 1,800 taka per person. We boarded the truck because it was cheaper. Four of us paid 2,300 taka. Two of my companions have died.”
Meanwhile, Additional Inspector General of Highway Police Md Delowar Hossain Mia said, “The side panels of the loaded truck were very high. It is not possible to see what goods or people are inside the truck. So when it passed in front of us, our force or police could not see it. Perhaps they (the passengers) were asleep. And since the truck was loaded with rods, the rods were low and did not extend upward. Therefore, the highway police could not see that there were people there. It cannot be seen from outside. Only after the accident did it become clear that there were people inside.”
He said, “We always discourage travelling on loaded vehicles. The people may have boarded the vehicle while evading the police. And since the side panels were very high, it could not be seen… therefore, the highway police could not remove them either.”
He said, “Passengers are not supposed to travel on loaded vehicles. Therefore, cases are being filed against those responsible. Legal action is being taken.”
Not only during Eid holidays, but road accidents are reported almost every day from one place or another in Bangladesh throughout the year.
According to data from the Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, based on an analysis of media reports, 389 accidents occurred across the country during last year’s Eid-ul-Azha holidays, killing 390 people. A total of 1,182 people were injured in those accidents.
During this year’s Eid-ul-Fitr as well, a total of 394 people were killed in 377 accidents on roads, railways, and waterways over a period of 15 days.
A glance at the Road Transport Act
In Bangladesh, the much-discussed ‘Road Transport Act, 2018’ came into force from 2019, introducing strict provisions for both drivers and pedestrians.
After two college students in Dhaka were killed after being run over by a bus in 2018, the former government of Sheikh Hasina was compelled to pass the Road Transport Act on 19 September in the face of widespread student protests.
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