20 CU students injured falling off roof of running shuttle train

At least 20 students of Chittagong University (CU) were injured after being hit by a hanging branch of a tree when they were returning to campus riding on the train's roof due to overcrowding.

The accident occurred on Thursday night.

Sixteen out of the injured students are undergoing treatment at different wards of the city's Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH).

Nurul Alam Asheque, in charge of the CMCH police outpost, said three students are undergoing treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), two at the surgery ward and the rest at casualty.

Eight out of the admitted students were identified as Amzad Hossain Sohag, 18, Taijul Islam, 21, Khalilur Rahman, 22, Aunginu Marma, 21, Abu Sayeed, 24, Mohammad Sun, 21, Aslam, 22 and Rafsan, 23.

On being informed, CU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Shireen Akhter rushed to the CMCH and assured the students that the university administration would stand by them.  

She also directed the hospital authority to ensure better treatment for the students.

As per the regular schedule, the university-bound shuttle train carrying over 2,000 students left the city's New Market Station at 8:30pm on Thursday.

Risking lives, some students were seen riding on the train roof due to a lack of seats in the train's bogies.

As the train arrived in the Fatehabad area under Hathazari upazila, some students fell off the train after being hit by a branch of a tree which was hanging low due to rain.  

Moazzem Hossain, a first-year student of the university's Public Administration, told UNB that three students fell off the train's roof after being hit by a branch of the tree when the train was crossing the Chowdhuryhat area around 9pm.  

Moreover, some 15 to 20 were injured in the incident and eight students were in critical condition, he said, narrating the incident that most of the students sustained injuries in their heads and faces.  

Enraged by the incident, the CU students vandalised the campus's police outpost, shops, and their valuables including chairs and tables and set fire to tyres in front of the Zero Point of the university.

At one stage, they also moved to the bungalow of the university's VC  and also went on a rampage there, creating panic on the campus.

Ratan Kumar Chowdhury, manager of Chattogram Railway Station, said that students are always asked not to ride on the train's roof due to lack of safety but they are indifferent to the instruction.

After the accident, the train carrying the students reached the campus, he said.

Dr Md Morshedul Alam, assistant proctor of the CU, said some 15 to 20 students were critically injured as they fell off the train roof after being hit by the tree's branch.

Two shuttle trains carrying students between the campus and the New Market Station daily.   

Moreover, the movement of demu trains was suspended due to lack of manpower after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The number of trains and their bogies did not increase to meet the growing number of students every year.  

Currently, around 28,000 students study in the university.