An Oman-based expatriate has filed a police complaint after a horrific microbus crash wiped out seven members of his family.
Mohammad Bahar Uddin lost his mother, his wife, his young daughter, his grandmother, his sister-in-law, and two nieces when the vehicle plunged into a canal in Begumganj. Acting on his complaint, police in Noakhali have now opened a case against the driver, Enayet Hossain Akbar.
The accident happened early Wednesday. The microbus, reportedly speeding, veered off the road and fell into a roadside canal. Four people survived with injuries, including Bahar himself, his father Abdur Rahim, father-in-law Iskandar Mirza, sister-in-law Swity Akter, and brother-in-law Riaz Hossain.
According to survivors, the driver appeared to have fallen asleep before losing control of the vehicle. “It all happened in seconds,” one of them said. “There was no time to react.”
It’s just devastating when you see the names. A mother, Laboni Akter, died along with her two little girls, Lamia and Reshmi. The other people killed were Morshida Begum, Kabita, Faizunnessa, and a toddler, Mim Akter, who was just two.
Police blamed the driver, but this crash is no freak accident; it’s the tragic result of reckless speeding and fatigued drivers, a persistent issue on Bangladesh’s roads.
