Four dead in ambulance fire while en route to hospital

A tragic incident on Wednesday night claimed the lives of four people, including a 12-year-old boy, in Savar, Dhaka. The victims were on their way to Labaid Hospital for medical treatment when their ambulance caught fire. 

The deceased have been identified as Faruk Hossain (45), his wife Mohsina Begum (30), their son Fuad Siddique (12), and Mohsina's older sister Mahfuza Begum (35). The family, from Gopalpur in Tangail, was traveling to the hospital when the accident occurred. 

Mahfuza's husband, Md Shahinur Alam, a constable in the Bangladesh Police, last communicated with the family around midnight. However, when he visited the hospital the next morning, he found they had not arrived. He later identified the bodies at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital. 

The incident took place around 2am on the Dhaka-Aricha Highway in the Police Town area of Savar. Reports indicate that the ambulance lost control and collided with a road divider. 

A bus travelling in the same direction crashed into the ambulance, setting both vehicles on fire. A third bus, from Shyamoli Paribahan, also collided with the burning vehicles, causing further flames. A truck carrying straw nearby was also engulfed in fire.

Fire service units from Savar arrived an hour later and extinguished the fire. They recovered the charred bodies of the four victims from the ambulance.

Meherul Islam, warehouse inspector at Savar Fire Service, confirmed that the fire was reported at 2:04am. 

Seven injured people, rescued from the buses, were taken to local hospitals.

AKM Akhtaruzzaman Bosunia, superintendent of Highway Police, confirmed the cause of the fire. He stated that after the ambulance collided with the divider and was struck by two buses, gas cylinders in the ambulance ignited.

The bodies have been sent for autopsy, while the injured are receiving treatment. Legal proceedings are ongoing.