The death toll from a head-on collision between two passenger buses on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway in Osmaninagar, Sylhet, has risen to nine.
The accident occurred in the Kashikapon area of the upazila at around 7:30am on Friday. At least 13 people were injured, several of them critically, according to police.
The identities of two of the deceased have been confirmed. They are Saptam Roy Pritom, 22, son of Uttam Roy of the Sobhanighat area in Sylhet city, and Zaifa, 3, daughter of Jahangir Alam of Bikrampur in Dhaka. They were taken to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital after the accident, where they died.
The identities of the other seven people who died at the scene could not immediately be confirmed.
Police said a Dhaka-bound Unique Paribahan bus collided head-on with a Bengal Paribahan bus in the Kashikapon area. Following the collision, the Unique Paribahan bus plunged into a roadside ditch. Seven passengers died at the scene, while two others died after being taken to hospital.
After receiving information about the accident, police and Fire Service personnel, assisted by local residents, carried out rescue operations, taking the injured to hospital and recovering the bodies of the deceased.
Sherpur Highway Police Officer-in-Charge Anisur Rahman said seven bodies were recovered from the scene following the collision. Traffic on the highway was disrupted for some time due to the accident, but the situation later returned to normal and vehicles are now moving normally.
