More than 100 passengers were injured after a chain-reaction collision involving 10 vehicles on the Dhaka-Barishal Highway in Gopalganj’s Muksudpur upazila on Friday morning. Two vehicles in the convoy of Gopalganj-1 MP Selimuzzaman Selim were among those damaged, although the lawmaker escaped unhurt.
The accident occurred at around 10.30 am on 13 November near Boraitala Bus Stand in Muksudpur. According to initial reports, the incident began when a private car collided head-on with a passenger bus. Several other vehicles travelling along the highway subsequently became involved in a series of collisions, turning the initial crash into a major road accident.
A total of 10 vehicles were caught up in the incident. They included four passenger buses, two private cars, two trucks and two engine-powered easybikes. The multiple collisions left passengers injured across the affected vehicles, while the damaged vehicles obstructed traffic on the busy highway.
Local people and rescuers rushed to the scene to help those trapped or injured. The scale of the incident prompted an emergency response, with seriously injured passengers taken to nearby hospitals for treatment.
Muksudpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Abdullah Al Mamun confirmed the accident. He said that 20 to 25 people who had sustained serious injuries were rescued and transported to hospitals in Faridpur and Bhanga.
The accident also brought traffic on the Dhaka-Barishal Highway to a standstill for approximately an hour. Vehicles were unable to move through the affected section, causing disruption for commuters and long-distance travellers. Traffic resumed after the authorities and those involved in the rescue operation worked to clear the road.
Meanwhile, the convoy of Selimuzzaman Selim, MP for the Gopalganj-1 constituency, was also caught up in the collision. The lawmaker was travelling from Dhaka to his constituency when the accident occurred as his convoy entered Muksudpur.
Two vehicles from his convoy sustained damage, including the MP’s own car. However, Selim was not injured and was reported to be in good health following the incident.
Among those seriously injured was Ilias Kazi, a Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader from Raghdi Union. He was initially rescued and subsequently sent to Dhaka for advanced medical treatment.
The incident has raised concerns over road safety on the Dhaka-Barishal Highway, particularly the risks posed by chain-reaction collisions involving several types of vehicles. When an initial crash occurs on a busy road, vehicles approaching from behind may have little time or space to respond, potentially resulting in further impacts.
However, the precise circumstances that led to the successive collisions at Boraitala Bus Stand have not yet been established. The initial head-on crash between the private car and the passenger bus is understood to have triggered the sequence of events. Further details about the cause of the accident were not immediately available.
Police confirmed that traffic movement had returned to normal after the temporary disruption.
