4 killed, 15 injured as ambulance, 2 buses catch fire in Savar

Four people were killed and 15 others injured as a gas cylinder in an ambulance exploded following a collision with a bus in Savar on the Dhaka-Aricha highway early today (9 January). 

Meherul Islam, the warehouse inspector at Savar Fire Service and Civil Defence Station, told The Business Standard, "We received the report of the fire at 2:04am. and arrived at the scene to find an ambulance and two passenger buses ablaze. Subsequently, we recovered the bodies of four people, including a woman and a child, from inside the ambulance and rescued seven injured individuals from one of the passenger buses involved in the accident."

This fire service official added, "Among the two passenger buses, one belonged to Jhumur Paribahan and the other was a long-distance bus from Shyamoli Paribahan."

Citing eyewitness accounts, the official further explained that the ambulance lost control and first hit the median barrier of the highway's Dhaka-bound lane. 

One of the burnt buses of caught on fire after an accident in Savar on 9 January. Photo: TBS

It was then hit from behind by a bus, causing the ambulance's cylinder to explode immediately. The resulting fire spread to other vehicles, he added. 

The injured were rescued and admitted to a hospital for treatment.

Police said the death toll may rise further.

Upon receiving the information, the Savar Fire Service rushed to the spot and brought the fire under control after an hour of effort.

Traffic on the Dhaka-Aricha highway remained suspended for several hours due to the accident.

The four bodies were recovered and sent to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital in Dhaka for autopsy, said Savar Highway police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Sougatul Alam.