Bus Breaks Railing and Plunges into Ditch on Dhaka-Mawa Expressway: 3 Dead, 16 Injured in Late-Night Rescue

Three people were killed when a passenger bus lost control and plunged into a ditch at Srinagar in Munshiganj on the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway. Sixteen more people were injured. In the late-night crash, the bus broke through the road's railing, crossed the service lane and fell into a water-filled ditch beside the road.

The accident happened at around 3:18am on Friday night (October 23) at Hasara in Srinagar upazila, on the Dhaka-bound lane of the expressway. The bus was travelling towards Dhaka at the time.

One of the dead has been identified: Rukunuzzaman Ranju (55), of Chuadanga. The other two victims could not be identified immediately. Their bodies were recovered and handed over to the highway police.

Muhammad Shafiqul Islam, deputy assistant director of Munshiganj Fire Service and Civil Defence, said a Darshana Paribahan passenger bus travelling from Chuadanga to Dhaka lost control due to reckless speed while overtaking a covered van. The bus then broke the road railing, crossed the service lane and fell into the water-filled ditch.

According to the Fire Service's account, the decisive moment of the crash was the overtaking attempt — the driver lost control of the bus while trying to pass the covered van at reckless speed, it was initially learned.

On receiving the news, two rescue units from Srinagar Fire Station reached the spot and began the rescue work. Bringing passengers out of the bus that had fallen into the water-filled ditch was the rescuers' main task.

Rescuers pulled out 11 people and sent them by Fire Service ambulance to Srinagar Upazila Health Complex. Another 5 people were given first aid at the scene.

The 16 injured are Hridoy (30), Shahin Akter (32), Nur Islam (55), Imran (27), Gilbad Sarkar (55), Tariqul Islam (36), Saiful Islam (40), Mirajul Islam (28), Rafiqul Islam (35), Anifin (17), Sandipan Basu (40), Ikram (40), Raihan (21), Hasib (22), Tisha (24) and Borhan Uddin (55).

The injured come from various areas of Chuadanga, Meherpur, Jhenaidah, Dhaka and Magura — meaning the bus had set out with Dhaka-bound passengers from several districts of the south-western region. A 17-year-old is among the injured.

After the accident, the bodies of the dead were handed over to the highway police. Identifying the two remaining victims is now the immediate task ahead, while the injured are receiving treatment at Srinagar Upazila Health Complex.

This late-night crash caused by reckless speed on one of the country's most modern and busy expressways has again raised questions about speed control and driver caution in long-distance bus operations. The Fire Service's initial account identifies reckless speed during overtaking as the cause of the accident.

As of the last report, the bodies are in highway police custody after the rescue ended, and of the 16 injured, 11 are under treatment in hospital and 5 received first aid at the scene. Tracing the families of the two unidentified victims and investigating the full cause of the crash are the next steps.