Two passengers have lost their lives and at least fifteen others sustained injuries following a head-on collision between a passenger bus and a sand-laden lorry on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway in Brahmanbaria. The fatal accident occurred on Saturday morning in the Bertala area under Sarail Upazila.
The deceased have been identified as 32-year-old Sourav, a resident of Parbatipur in Dinajpur district, and 26-year-old Asif, whose full address could not immediately be confirmed by authorities.
According to Abdul Halim, Officer-in-Charge of the Khatihata Highway Police Station, the long-distance passenger coach operated by Diganta Paribahan was en route to Sylhet from Rangpur. As the bus negotiated the Bertala stretch of the busy regional artery, a truck loaded with sand travelling in the opposite direction collided forcefully with it. The severity of the impact caused the passenger bus to overturn and skid off the tarmac.
Police personnel and local residents rushed to the scene immediately following the crash to extract trapped passengers from the wreckage. Emergency responders transported the injured victims to Brahmanbaria District General Hospital for urgent medical evaluation. Despite clinical intervention, both Sourav and Asif succumbed to their critical injuries whilst undergoing treatment at the facility.
Hospital sources confirmed that three of the injured passengers remain in a highly critical condition and have been transferred to specialised medical institutions in Dhaka for advanced trauma care. The remaining twelve passengers received preliminary medical attention and first aid before being discharged.
Highways across Bangladesh, particularly major trunk routes like the Dhaka-Sylhet corridor, frequently record heavy casualty figures due to high traffic density, overtaking maneuvers, and mixed vehicle types operating on single carriageways. Traffic movement on the highway experienced brief disruptions following the crash while emergency teams cleared the overturned bus and debris from the road.
Police authorities confirmed that the damaged vehicles have been seized from the site, and legal procedures regarding the incident are currently underway.
