Three people, including a three-year-old child, lost their lives and eleven others sustained injuries in a series of road accidents across Narsingdi district on Thursday. The casualties occurred in three separate incidents spanning the Raipura, Shibpur, and Belabo upazilas, once again highlighting the volatile safety conditions on regional thoroughfares.
The most severe incident took place on the Narsingdi-Raipura regional road in the Mahmudnagar area under Raipura Upazila around 2:00 pm. According to eyewitnesses and local authorities, an auto-rickshaw carrying five passengers departed from the Arshinagar stand in Narsingdi, heading towards Raipura. As the vehicle crossed Hasnabad and approached the Mahmudnagar No. 10 bridge, it collided head-on with another auto-rickshaw travelling in the opposite direction.
The impact forced one of the vehicles into a roadside ditch, while the other overturned onto the tarmac. Both auto-rickshaws suffered extensive damage. Local residents rushed to the scene to rescue the victims and transported twelve individuals to Narsingdi Sadar Hospital. Attending physicians declared one passenger, 35-year-old Ujjwal Sheel, dead upon arrival. Ujjwal was the son of Narayan Chandra Sheel from Methikinda village in Raipura.
Dr Farida Gulshanara Kabir, Resident Medical Officer at Narsingdi Sadar Hospital, confirmed that twelve patients were brought to the emergency department following the crash. She stated that one individual had succumbed to injuries before arrival, whilst another critically injured victim was transferred to Dhaka for advanced medical treatment. The remaining casualties continue to receive care at the hospital.
Earlier that morning, two additional fatalities involving heavy transport vehicles occurred elsewhere in the district. In Shibpur Upazila, a 19-year-old labourer named Md Shabbir Miah died near the Shibpur College Gate area. Shabbir, son of Md Masud Miah of Dhanua village in Masimpur Union, fell from a moving brick-laden trolley and was crushed under its wheels.
Simultaneously, a tragic incident claimed the life of three-year-old Alisha Akhtar Noha in the Patuli Riverbank area of Belabo Upazila. Noha, daughter of Kashem Miah from Patuli village, was struck by a brick-laden trolley and died on the spot.
Officers-in-Charge Mujibur Rahman of Raipura Police Station, Mohammad Kohinoor Miah of Shibpur Model Police Station, and SM Amanullah of Belabo Police Station confirmed the fatalities in their respective jurisdictions. Police have initiated preliminary investigations into each event.
These accidents underscore broader concerns regarding road transport safety across Bangladesh’s rural and semi-urban routes. Light passenger vehicles like auto-rickshaws frequently share narrow, unseparated roads with heavy utility transports and agricultural machinery such as brick trolleys. This structural vulnerability, coupled with variable driver training and limited speed regulation, contributes significantly to recurring road fatalities across the region.
