Four killed as three-vehicle collide, catch fire in Cumilla

At least four people, including two children, were killed and 30 others injured after a passenger bus collided with a battery-run auto-rickshaw and a motorcycle and then caught fire in Cumilla’s Daudkandi.

The accident took place around 12:15pm on the Dhaka–Chattogram highway at Baniapara on Friday (January 9).

Three of the victims were bus passengers, while the fourth was the motorcycle rider, confirmed Daudkandi Highway Police Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Iqbal Bahar Majumder, saying, "Identities of the deceased were not immediately available."

According to police and local sources, a Chattogram-bound CDM Paribahan bus from Dhaka lost control, overturned on the highway and burst into flames. The bus subsequently collided with an auto-rickshaw and a motorcycle, triggering a major fire that left several passengers trapped and badly burned.

Fire Service units from Daudkandi, highway police and senior police officials rushed to the scene and brought the blaze under control. The damaged bus was later removed from the road.

The crash caused severe traffic congestion along the Chattogram-bound lane from Baniapara to Gauripur, stretching about five kilometres. Traffic movement returned to normal around 2:00 pm after clearance operations were completed.

An investigation into the cause of the accident is underway, police said.