A collision between a cargo train and an express passenger train in eastern Bangladesh left at least 17 people dead and 50 injured.
According to local police, a Chattogram cargo container train collided with the back of the Dhaka-bound Egarosindhur Express near Bhairab, 80 km northeast of the capital, on Monday afternoon. According to the BBC's Bengali service, citing a railway official, human error in track signaling was the most likely cause.
Most of those killed were in the three rear carriages that overturned as a result of the collision. "Many people were trapped inside after the collision.
Most people died immediately,” fire chief Mohammad Masud said at a press conference. Shahjahan Sikder, communications director of the Bangladesh Fire and Civil Service, said a major rescue operation was carried out with 14 firefighting units dispatched to the scene, while the government mobilized three ministries.
border guard section of the brigade to assist in this effort. President Mohammed Shahabuddin and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed shock and dismay at the number of deaths caused by the tragedy.
Bangladesh Railway Director General Quamrul Ahsan said the agency had launched an investigation following the initial findings, with the Dhaka division office forming a four-member committee to conduct its own investigation.
The freight train driver, assistant, and guard were all suspended. Several people were injured in April, not far from the site of Monday's accident, after a passenger train traveling from Dhaka collided with a freight train in an incident that authorities said was caused by The cause was also because one of the trains ignored the signal.
There has been a series of accidents in Asia recently. There was a train collision in India and hundreds of innocent lives were lost during the accident.
However, Bangladesh has also seen a series of accidents in the past from flooding, and factory fire outbreaks to train collisions.