13 Workers Die in Bangladesh Road Accident
A speeding truck loaded with iron bars overturned Thursday in heavy rain after its driver apparently lost control, killing 13 passengers in northern Bangladesh, police said.
Dhaka, May 21 (AP) A speeding truck loaded with iron bars overturned Thursday in heavy rain after its driver apparently lost control, killing 13 passengers in northern Bangladesh, police said.
The truck was travelling from Dhaka and the dead were day laborers who were riding in the back, local police chief Masudur Rahman said. The driver and his assistant fled after the accident, which occurred in Polashbari in Gaibandha district, he said.
Many people choose cheap rides in the back of trucks to their hometowns ahead of the major Islamic festival of Eid-al Fitr next week. Gaibandha is 189 kilometers north of Dhaka.
Road accidents in Bangladesh are common because of lax enforcement of traffic laws, bad road conditions and speeding. Up to 7,000 people die annually. (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)