16 killed as truck falls into ditch in Bangladesh

dhaka — At least 16 people, mostly factory workers and labourers, were killed on Saturday when a cement-laden truck they were travelling on while returning home for Eid overturned and fell into a ditch after the driver lost control near the northwestern Bangladeshi city of Rangpur.

“They were travelling on a cement-laden truck...11 of them died instantly and five succumbed to their wounds on the way to or at two hospitals,” a police officer told reporters. Four among those dead were women while one was a 10yearold girl.

Highway Police camp said that five injured people were being treated at a Rangpur hospital and had suffered critical wounds.

The truck overturned and fell down into a roadside ditch after its driver lost control and passengers were buried under tonnes of weight of heavy cement bags.

Media reports said the passengers were mostly poor garment factory workers or daily wage labourers, who had taken the cheap truck ride from Gazipur to return to their families in northwestern Lalmonirhat district for the Eid festival.