Three people were killed and two others injured in a collision between a bus and a CNG-run auto-rickshaw on Cumilla-Noakhali Road in the district's Manoharganj upazila on Saturday.
The identities of the deceased could not be known immediately.
The accident occurred around 8:00am when the speeding Dhaka-bound bus of ‘Himachal Paribahan’ from Noakhali hit the auto-rickshaw in the Natherpetua area, police said.
The crash left three occupants of the auto-rickshaw dead on the spot, while two other passengers sustained injuries, said Zafar Ahmed, a sub-inspector at Natherpetua police post.
The injured have been admitted to Laksham Upazila Health Complex. The bodies of the deceased were sent those to the local hospital morgue, the officer said.
Road accidents in Bangladesh
Road accidents are common in Bangladesh, and claim a number of lives every year.
During the last Eid-ul-Fitr holiday rush, road accidents claimed 323 lives in just 15 days, according to Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Shamiti, a human rights body.
Besides, 513 people, including 63 children, were killed and 598 injured in 409 road accidents across the country in March, said another NGO Road Safety Foundation on April 5.
According to the NGO, 147 lives were lost in 138 motorcycle accidents, which was some 28 of the total deaths.
In a report released in February 2020, the World Bank pointed out that Bangladesh needs to invest an estimated $7.8 billion over the next decade to halve its road crash fatalities.
The report attributed the high death rate on Bangladesh’s roads to lack of investments in systemic, targeted, and sustained road safety programmes, reports UNB.