Bangla Press Desk: Three people, including sibling sisters, were killed and three others injured when a CNG-run auto-rickshaw collided head-on with a covered van in Ramu upazila of Cox’s Bazar district on Monday noon.
The accident occurred at Katabridge area in Khuniapalong along the Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf highway, as the victims were returning home after attending a court hearing.
The deceased were identified as Rubina Akter, 40, and Shahina Akter, 42, the residents of Harinmara area in Ukhiya upazila, daughters of Jafar Alam. The identity of the third victim, a man, could not be confirmed by Monday evening.
According to family members, the two sisters had travelled to Cox’s Bazar court earlier in the day to attend a hearing related to a family case.
They were returning home by CNG-run auto-rickshaw when it collided head-on with a covered van coming from the opposite direction. They later died while undergoing treatment at hospital.
Police said six people, including the driver, were travelling in the auto-rickshaw at the time of the crash.
One person died at the scene due to the severity of the collision, while the injured were taken to Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital, where Rubina and Shahina later succumbed to their injuries. Three others remain under treatment at the hospital.
An eyewitness named Gafur said he was on his way to a coaching centre with his children when he heard a loud crash and rushed to the scene. “I saw the auto-rickshaw completely mangled, with several people lying in blood,” he said, adding that injured passengers were sent to hospital with help from locals.Sukanta Chakraborty, officer-in-charge of Ramu Crossing Highway Police Station, confirmed that three people, including two women, died in the accident. “The identities of the women have been confirmed, but the identity of the deceased man remained unknown as of Monday evening. The rest of the passengers are undergoing treatment,” he said.
Both vehicles involved in the accident have been seized by police. The bodies were handed over to family members after completion of legal formalities, and further legal action is under way.
