A wedding celebration filled with laughter and family festivities turned into a devastating tragedy overnight when a microbus carrying a bride’s family crashed on their return journey, killing four people and injuring several others.
The bride’s father Monjur Alam, mother Nilufa Yasmin, daughter Jasiya Isme Mimta, son Morshed, maternal uncle Ferdaus Alam Firoz, his wife Arefa Begum, paternal uncle Abul Kalam, driver Hasan Mohammad Munna, and neighbour Helal Uddin were among 11 passengers travelling in the vehicle towards Eidgah area of Cox’s Bazar.
The wedding of Monjur Alam’s second daughter, Tammin Faeza Fahima, took place on Sunday night at Coppersimoni Restaurant in the Agrabad area of Chattogram. Following the ceremony, family members and relatives departed for their home in North Maijpara.
The collision occurred as the fast-moving microbus was passing the Moijjartek area, where a covered van was taking a U-turn. The right side of the microbus struck the rear of the covered van with great force.
Three passengers seated directly behind the driver’s position, along with the driver, died on the spot. The deceased are Jasiya Isme Mimta, her brother Morshed, her maternal uncle Ferdaus Alam Firoz, and the driver, Hasan Mohammad Munna.
Mimta was a physics student at Chittagong College. Her uncle, Ferdaus Alam Firoz, was the proprietor of Arafat Shopping Complex at Eidgah bus station and owned a shop named Nurjahan Medico within the market.
Firoz resided in Gomatali area under Pokkhali Union, while most of the family members lived in North Maijpara, Eidgah Union.
Recounting the crash, injured paternal uncle Abul Kalam stated that he was seated on the rearmost seat alongside Monjur Alam. Mimta sat behind the driver, Firoz sat behind her, and Morshed sat beside Firoz.
“After the impact, three people including the driver, directly behind the driver’s position, died on the spot,” Kalam said while receiving initial treatment at a relative’s house on DC Road in Chawkbazar.
Kalam sustained a cut vein in his right arm, while Monjur Alam’s condition was described as critical.
Following formalities at Chittagong Medical College Hospital, the bodies were handed over to relatives without autopsies. At approximately 1:30pm, the family left for Cox’s Bazar carrying the four bodies in four separate ambulances.
The funeral prayers (janaza) were scheduled for 9pm on Sunday at the Eidgah Adarsha High School ground.
The tragedy has highlighted ongoing safety concerns along the 155-kilometre Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar highway. According to local figures, around 100 kilometres of the highway are hazardous, with more than 150 people killed and over 300 injured on the route during the past year.
Accident-prone locations along the route include Satkania, Keranihat, Hajirasta, Bonpukur, and Jangalia.
Locals reported that heavy vehicles transporting salt and fish drop waste onto the road, making surfaces slippery, which, combined with narrow roads, dangerous bends, excessive speed, and unskilled drivers, increases the risk on this vital link between South Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar.
