Father and Daughter Killed as Bus Hits Autorickshaw in Satkania: Bus Torched, Highway Blocked for Two and a Half Hours

Two passengers of a CNG-run autorickshaw have been killed after a passenger bus hit the vehicle on the Chattogram-Cox's Bazar highway. The two victims were father and daughter. Four others were injured, among them the dead man's wife and son.

The accident happened on Friday (23 October) at around 7:30pm near the DBM brickfield area at Pathanipul in Satkania upazila of Chattogram. After the crash, agitated locals set the bus on fire and blocked the highway.

The dead were identified as Md Delwar Hossain (30) of Kaliaish in Satkania and his daughter Mosammat Wasifa (4). The death of the four-year-old has cast a pall of grief over the area.

Local union parishad member Shafiqur Rahman said the father and daughter riding the autorickshaw were killed in the bus collision, and two more members of their family were seriously injured.

Police, eyewitnesses and local sources said a Chattogram-bound minibus lost control on reaching the DBM brickfield area and hit a Keranihat-bound CNG autorickshaw. Delwar Hossain died on the spot.

Local people rescued the injured and took them to hospital. They were later being moved to Chattogram Medical College Hospital for better treatment, but Delwar's daughter Wasifa died on the way.

After the accident, locals torched the bus and blocked the highway, halting traffic for about two and a half hours. Hundreds of vehicles were stranded on both sides of the road, causing suffering for drivers and passengers.

Police said protesters rushed at police members who reached the scene and allegedly tried to snatch their weapons. Fire Service personnel who came to douse the fire were also obstructed, police said.

Satkania Circle Additional Superintendent of Police Ariful Islam Siddique said that when police reached the spot on hearing of the accident, some people rushed at them and tried to snatch their weapons, obstructing both police and Fire Service work.

He added that the crowd dispersed after police chased them, and traffic on the highway then returned to normal.

The additional superintendent said legal action would be taken against those involved after an investigation. The four injured are receiving treatment, while locals have stood beside the grief-stricken family that lost a father and his young daughter.