Father, daughter killed in road crash, mother and son critical

A senior BRAC Bank official and his five-year-old daughter were killed when a passenger bus collided head-on with a sand-laden truck in Natore’s Baraigram upazila early Tuesday (October 20), while his wife and son were critically injured.

The deceased were Shahidul Islam, a senior manager at BRAC Bank’s Magura branch, and his daughter Tasfia Khatun. Shahidul’s wife Rubina Begum and their son, Labib, were injured in the crash and are receiving treatment at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.

The family of four was travelling to Chapainawabganj on an RP Nice Paribahan bus. Rubina and her two children boarded the bus at Subidkhali in Patuakhali’s Mirzaganj, while Shahidul joined them in Magura.

The accident occurred early Tuesday in the Sardarpara area of Baraigram on the Bonpara-Pabna highway when the bus collided head-on with an oncoming sand-laden truck. A total of 14 people, including nine who died at the scene, were killed in the crash.

According to Shahidul’s cousin Sujon Howlader, the bodies of Shahidul and Tasfia were being taken to their village home in Subidkhali. Tasfia was a student at a local Noorani madrasa, while Labib studies in Class V at Subidkhali Ideal School.

The identities of 12 of the 14 victims have been established, including the bus driver, Sohel Rana, and the truck driver, Abul Kalam.