17 dead, 35 injured after bus veers off, falls into pond in Bangladesh

Bangladesh: In an unfortunate incident, at least 17 people were killed, including three children, and 35 were injured after a bus veered off and rolled into a large pond in Bangladesh’s Chhatrakanda area on Saturday.

The Barishal-bound bus from Bhandaria upazila to Pirojpur fell into the pond as the driver of the bus lost control near the local parishad office while giving way to an auto rickshaw. The incident occurred around 9.55 in the morning, said Jhalakathi Sadar police station Officer-in-charge Nasir Uddin.

“The divers have rescued 17 bodies, and a police crane is trying to retrieve the bus from the pond filled with water after heavy monsoon rains,” a police officer told reporters. Police sub-inspector Gautamm Kumar Ghose said the dead included eight women and three children.

It is believed that the bus ‘Bashar Smrity Paribahan’ was carrying 60–70 passengers. Out of which 35 injured passengers were taken to Jhalakathi district hospital. More bodies are feared to be trapped inside the bus.

Local firefighting units are trying to recover the bus from the water body. Rescue workers recovered 13 bodies from the scene, while four others died in the hospital, according to Dr. Zahirul Islam, the district’s civil surgeon.

Traffic on the Khulna-Jhalakathi highway was closed after the incident left hundreds of vehicles stranded on each side.