A tragic accident involving a microbus, pickup truck, and dump truck on the Dhaka-Sylhet Highway in the Bargharia area of Madhabpur, Habiganj district, claimed the lives of four people, including an 11-month-old infant.
The incident occurred at approximately 5:30am on Wednesday (11 December), when a microbus, carrying several family members, collided head-on with a sand-laden dump truck.
A pickup truck subsequently crashed into the already damaged microbus, causing it to overturn.
The victims were identified as Raisha, the infant daughter of Manik Mia from Ramapur village in the Bella Union of Madhabpur; 65-year-old Fazilatunnisa, also from Ramapur; Riyad Mia from Budhanti village in Bijoynagar; and 20-year-old Pavel Mia, the microbus driver from Haripur village in Nasirnagar.
According to local sources, the family had recently returned from performing the Umrah pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
The night before the accident, Abu Hanif, his mother Safia Khatun, and other relatives, including Fazilatunnisa, Manik Mia, his wife Ruma Khatun, and their infant daughter Raisha, flew back to Bangladesh. They were picked up from the airport by Riyad Mia and Pavel Mia, who were driving the microbus. While returning to Madhabpur, their vehicle collided with the dump truck at Bargharia. Tragically, Fazilatunnisa, Riyad Mia, and infant Raisha died on the spot. Pavel Mia, though initially rescued by police, succumbed to his injuries while being transported to the hospital.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Khatiyata Highway Police, Md Margub Touhid, confirmed the fatalities and stated that the police had seized the damaged vehicles involved in the accident. However, both the dump truck and pickup truck drivers managed to flee the scene following the crash.
The authorities have launched an investigation to trace the perpetrators of the incident.
