Families in tears as truck-pickup van collision kills 14 in Sylhet
Dulal Mia, a construction worker from Shantiganj upazila of Sunamganj, lost his elder brother Helal Ahmed in an accident three months ago. Now he lost his own life – along with 13 others – in a truck-pickup van collision in the early hours yesterday in Sylhet's Nazirbazar area.
Dulal's cousin Md Shahin was crying as he was waiting to collect his brother's body at the MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital in Sylhet.
"He [Dulal] came to Sylhet for work barely two weeks after his marriage, and now he is gone," Shahin said.
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Relatives of the victims of the fatal collision that left a dozen others injured were all in tears as they gathered at the MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital morgue to collect the bodies of their loved ones.
All of the deceased were construction workers.
The bodies were handed over without any autopsies at the request of the victims' families, said Sylhet Additional District Magistrate Imrul Hasan.
"All of a sudden, a truck from the opposite direction rushed towards us and hit us. Everything got ruined in an instant," eyewitness Sher Islam, who survived the accident but lost his brother Sajedur, told The Business Standard.
Chandni Begum was grieving the loss of her husband, Meher Mia, who was among the deceased.
"We could not sleep well last night due to the heat. He told me around 2am that he would buy a fan for me. He can never buy me a fan now," she lamented.
"Now my children have become orphans. I do not want money, I just want the father of my children back," she wailed.
"Our pickup overturned when the truck hit it. The truck came to the right side of the road, leaving the left side. My father and I survived with some injuries. But my uncle is no more," said Robiul Islam as he recounted the horror of the deadly collision.
According to police, Fire Service and Civil Defence and eyewitnesses, a Sylhet-bound potato laden truck from Munshiganj collided with the pickup van carrying 30 construction workers from Sylhet in the Kutubpur area of Nazirbazar in South Surma upazila around 5:30am.
Initially, Fire Service officials at the site said the accident claimed 15 lives. The number was later lowered to 14, while 12 others were injured, according to the police and the hospital authorities.
The deceased are – Md Sijil Mia, 55, Eklim Mia, 55, Haris Mia, 65, Sourav Mia, 27, Sajedur, 60, Badsdha Mia, 30, Sadhu Mia, 50, Rashid Mia, 50 and Meher Mia, 25 from Dirai upazila of Sunamganj; Shahin Mia, 40, Dulal Mia, 26 and Awlad Hossain, 50 from Shantiganj upazila; Amina Begum 45, from Chunarughat upazila of Habiganj; and Awlad Mia, 40, from Netrokona's Barhatta.
Vehicular movement on the Sylhet-Dhaka Highway remained suspended for around three hours following the collision.
On information, State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury visited the injured at the MAG Osmani Hospital in Sylhet on Wednesday.
Sylhet Police Commissioner Elias Sharif, while visiting the spot, said that despite a ban, passengers were still being transported by pickups on the highway, that is why such an accident happened.
"We will remain vigilant to prevent the recurrence of such accidents," he added.
One of the injured was being treated at the intensive care unit (ICU) in a critical condition, while others were being treated at various wards, said MAG Osmani Hospital Director Brig Gen Mahbubur Rahman Bhuiyan.
Sylhet district administration has given Tk20,000 to the families of each of the deceased, and Tk10,000 to the families of each injured.
Besides, ruling Awami League-nominated Sylhet city election mayoral candidate Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury has given Tk25,000 to the families of each of the victims, said magistrate Imrul Hasan.
