Eight killed in truck-pickup collision in Sylhet

Eight construction workers, including two women, were killed on Sunday morning in a head-on collision between a pickup van and a truck in Dakshin Surma upazila.

The accident occurred at around 6am in Telibazar area when a pickup van carrying 10-12 workers collided with a jackfruit-laden truck. The workers were heading from Sylhet to Sunamganj, while the truck was coming from Chittagong towards Sylhet.

Four people died on the spot and the other four succumbed to injuries after being taken to hospital, police said.

Sylhet Metropolitan Police Additional Deputy Commissioner (Media) Md. Manjurul Alam confirmed the incident. Dakshin Surma Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md. Ashraful said rescue operations were carried out immediately and the injured were rushed to the nearest hospital.

The identities of the deceased are being ascertained.

This is the second major road tragedy involving construction workers in the Sylhet region. In 2023, 14 workers were killed in a road accident at Nazir Bazar on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway.