Firefighters executed a dramatic four-hour rescue operation along the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway in Feni, extracting a lorry driver who was trapped inside his crushed vehicle after it overturned on Thursday morning.
The incident occurred at dawn in the Khaiyara area near Fazilpur, opposite the Zenith Petrol Station. The driver, 25-year-old Md Shamim, son of Idris Akon from Dashmina Upazila in Patuakhali, was pulled alive from the wreckage around 9:00 am.
According to highway police and local sources, the covered lorry was transporting approximately 21 tonnes of scrap iron and metal cargo belonging to Rahim Industries, travelling from Chittagong Port towards Kanchpur in Dhaka. As the vehicle reached Fazilpur, a speeding passenger bus veered close, forcing Shamim to swerve sharply to avoid a direct collision. The sudden manoeuvre caused the heavily laden vehicle to lose stability and overturn into a roadside ditch.
While the driver’s assistant managed to scramble out of the cabin immediately after the crash, Shamim remained pinned beneath the crumpled metal bodywork and the massive weight of the cargo. A patrolling team from the Fazilpur Highway Police Station discovered the overturned lorry shortly after the accident. Approaching the wreckage, officers heard faint cries for help coming from the cabin, realising that the driver was alive but in critical danger.
Recognising the complexity of the situation, the officers alerted the fire service. A specialist rescue team led by Md Abdullah Harun Pasha, Deputy Assistant Director of Feni Sadar Fire Station, arrived at the scene and launched a painstaking extraction operation.
Firefighters used heavy-duty hydraulic cutters and specialised equipment to cut through the twisted metal chassis. The presence of 21 tonnes of heavy iron scrap complicated efforts, as any sudden movement risked further collapsing the cabin onto the trapped driver. After nearly four hours of careful cutting and clearing, emergency crews successfully freed Shamim. He was immediately rushed to a local hospital for medical evaluation and treatment.
Fazilpur Highway Police Sub-Inspector M. A. Imran Hossain noted that the timely arrival of the police patrol and the quick response of the fire service prevented a tragedy. Emergency responders highlighted that the heavy load inside the vehicle had severely mangled the driver’s cabin, making the successful rescue a testament to the technical skill and perseverance of the extraction team.
