Five people were killed and at least eight others injured in two separate road accidents in Faridpur on Friday afternoon.
In the first incident, three people were killed and four others injured when a bus collided head-on with an ambulance in the Arkandi area of Madhukhali upazila around 3pm.
About 30 minutes later, a woman and her child were killed and three others injured in a collision involving a sand-laden truck, a private car and an autorickshaw in the Tetultala area of Kanaipur on the Faridpur-Khulna highway.
According to police, fire service officials and local sources, a Magura-bound bus of Kingfisher Paribahan collided head-on with an ambulance coming from the opposite direction in Arkandi.
Three people travelling in the ambulance died on the spot, while four others were injured. According to preliminary information, all the victims were students from Magura Sadar upazila.
They were returning home after attending a blood donation programme organised by the Red Crescent in Faridpur.
The injured were rescued and taken to Madhukhali Upazila Health Complex. Two of the injured were later referred to Faridpur Medical College Hospital for advanced treatment.
The damaged bus and ambulance were later taken to the Kanaipur Highway Police Outpost.
Abdus Salam, officer-in-charge of Karimpur Highway Police Station, confirmed the deaths. He said police were working to identify the deceased and investigate the cause of the accident.
In the second accident, the truck, private car and autorickshaw collided around 3:30pm in Tetultala, leaving a woman and her child dead. Three others sustained injuries.
The victims were rescued and taken to Faridpur Medical College Hospital.
Sribas Barui, senior staff officer of Faridpur Fire Service, said firefighters rushed to the accident sites after receiving information and began rescue operations.
Traffic movement on both roads was disrupted following the crashes. The damaged vehicles were later removed, allowing traffic to return to some extent to normal.
The second accident caused significant congestion, with long queues of vehicles forming on both sides of the Faridpur-Khulna highway.
