16 dead, 100 injured in Bangla accidents amid Eid rush

Dhaka, Dec 20 (UNI) At least 16 people were killed and more than 100 injured in road and train accidents in Bangladesh's northern districts of Sirajganj, Jamalpur and Pabna today amid the rush for Muslim religious festival of Eid-ul-Zuha.

In Sirajganj, eight people were killed and 50 injured when a truck rammed into a rickshaw-van and knocked down a cycle rider on Dhaka-Bogra highway. In another accident nearby, three people were killed and 23 injured as a Bogra-bound truck overturned on the western side of the Jamuna Bridge.

In Chittagong one person died on the spot and nine others were injured when a night coach of Alamin Transport skidded off the road into a ditch amid dense fog. In Jamalpur, a bus smashed down the railing of the bridge and tumbled into a 20-foot ditch, killing three passengers and injuring 10 others.

In Pabna, a passenger was drowned and four others went missing as they fell into water from the rooftop of a train while crossing a railway bridge. Police said 15 passengers were travelling on the rooftop of the train bound for Syedpur from Dhaka.

Suddenly, they were dashed against the overhead frame of the bridge and all dropped into the river waters, according to eyewitness accounts, amid a mad rush of homebound journey ahead of Eid.

UNI