Wedding Tragedy Claims Fourteen Lives

A devastating road accident in southern Bangladesh has claimed the lives of fourteen people, including a newly married couple and several members of the groom’s family, casting a deep pall of grief over two communities. The victims’ bodies were handed over to their relatives on Thursday night without post-mortem examinations, following appeals from family members. The handover took place at Khulna Medical College Hospital and Rampal Upazila Health Complex.

Among the deceased were nine members of the same family, including the groom, his father, siblings, sister-in-law, and young relatives. Their bodies were taken early on Friday morning to Shehlabunia in Mongla, Bagerhat District, where the groom’s family lived. The bodies of the bride and three of her relatives were transported separately to Koyra Upazila in Khulna District.

According to police and family sources, the marriage between Ahadur Rahman (known as Sabbir), the youngest son of Abdur Razzak—president of the BNP’s Ward 8 unit in Mongla Municipality—and Marzia Akter (Mitu), daughter of Abdus Salam Morol of Naksa village in Amadi Union, Koyra, had taken place on Wednesday night at the bride’s home.

On Thursday at approximately 12:15 pm, members of the wedding party set out for Mongla in a microbus. Fourteen passengers, including the newlyweds, were travelling together. Near Belayibij in Rampal Upazila, close to Mongla, the vehicle collided head-on with a bus belonging to the navy that was approaching from the opposite direction. The crash proved catastrophic: thirteen passengers and the microbus driver died instantly, while one survivor was critically injured and admitted to Khulna Medical College Hospital.

Victims of the Accident

Ahadur Rahman operated a small mobile phone shop in Mongla town, while Marzia Akter was a first-year Alim student at Naksa Alim Madrasa in Koyra.

Abdul Alim, the father-in-law of the groom’s sister Umme Sumaiya, said he had attended the wedding ceremony the previous evening. “They left shortly after midday on Thursday. My daughter-in-law and my only grandson were among those who died,” he said, struggling to contain his grief.

On Friday morning, hundreds of mourners gathered at the groom’s home in Shehlabunia, near the Mongla Upazila Parishad complex. Relatives, neighbours, and residents from surrounding areas arrived to pay their respects, stunned by the scale of the tragedy. Inside the family residence, the bodies of four female victims were laid out, while the remaining five were placed in the nearby Upazila Parishad courtyard.

Local resident Sharif Habibur Rahman described the scene as unbearable. “I have never seen so many bodies together in my life. It is beyond anything we can endure,” he said.

According to the groom’s uncle, Sajjad Sardar, nine biers were brought from neighbouring mosques to prepare the victims for burial. After ritual washing, the bodies were placed on the biers, awaiting funeral prayers. The janaza was scheduled to be held after the Friday congregational prayers at the Upazila Parishad grounds, after which the victims would be buried at the municipal graveyard.

The tragedy has left both families shattered, with many residents remarking that an entire household was effectively wiped out in a single moment. Local authorities have expressed condolences and indicated that further investigation into the circumstances of the collision is underway.