4 killed as covered van hits easybike, van on Jashore-Khulna highway

Four passengers, including the driver, were killed when a covered van hit an easybike and a van in front of the Chaulia oil pump on the Jashore-Khulna highway on Saturday afternoon. Three others were seriously injured; two of them are in critical condition. 

The injured have been admitted to Jessore General Hospital.

After the accident, angry locals blocked the road and protested. At that time, the covered van was set on fire. Later, the highway police reached the spot and brought the situation under control.

The deceased were easybike driver Mohammad Ayub Ali, 43, son of the deceased Hasan Ali Molla of Ghuni Purbapara village in Jashore Sadar upazila, Bristi Saha, 24, wife of Sujan Saha of Ghoragacha Sahapara village, her four-year-old son Souvik Saha, and van driver Anwar Ali, 70, son of the deceased Kalu Sheikh of Chaulia village.

Police and local witnesses said that when a speeding covered van from Khulna to Jashore reached the Chaulia oil pump area of Rupdia, it hit an easybike and an engine-powered van coming from the opposite direction. 

The easybike driver Ayub Ali and passenger Bristi Saha were crushed under the covered van and died on the spot. 

The three people who were seriously injured in the accident were taken to Jessore General Hospital. A child named Souvik Saha died while undergoing treatment there. 

Currently, two others, including Sazzad Hossain, 28, are undergoing treatment at Jashore General Hospital. Their condition is also critical, said the hospital's medical officer Dr. Shakirul Islam.

Jamal Hossain, son of the deceased Anwar, said that his father was going to Chaulia with three passengers in the van. On the way, the covered van hit the easybike and the engine-powered van, killing his father.

Tension prevailed in the area after the accident. Local people blocked the road at the scene and protested for about an hour. They set the covered van on fire. Traffic on the highway was completely stopped. 

On receiving the information, the police reached the spot and tried to bring the situation under control. Later, a unit of the fire service went to the spot and brought the fire under control.

Senior Station Officer of the Fire Service Sadar Station Md. Firoz Ahmed said that after receiving the information, the fire of the covered van was brought under control. The situation is currently normal.

OC of Jashore Kotwali Model Police Station Masum Khan said that the bodies of the deceased were recovered after the road accident and sent to the morgue of Jessore General Hospital. Angry locals set the killer covered van on fire in this incident. Police brought the situation under control on the spot.