Patient dies in ambulance stuck in 40km gridlock on Dhaka-Ctg highway

A patient suffering from a heart attack died inside an ambulance while stuck in a severe traffic jam on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway. The deceased, Amirunnesa, was a resident of Pranbhagbatipur village in Chandragunj upazila, Lakshmipur district.

Traffic stretched for about 40 kilometres from Ashadhiarchar in Narayanganj to Eliotganj in Daudkandi, Cumilla, from Friday afternoon (August 29) through Saturday afternoon.

Relatives said Amirunnesa suffered a heart attack on Friday night and was taken by ambulance to Dhaka around 8pm. However, the ambulance became trapped in severe gridlock upon reaching Daudkandi around 11pm. The vehicle remained stationary for about four hours, and she died inside the ambulance around 3:30am.

Sources said repair work began on Friday morning on the Dhaka-bound lane of the Ashadhiarchar Bridge in Narayanganj due to a large pothole. Traffic was diverted to a single lane, causing the massive tailback. Passengers and drivers suffered immensely in the scorching heat, with women, children and the elderly facing the most hardship. Many faced shortages of food and water.

Highway police said they were working to ease the gridlock, and ambulance and expatriate passengers were being sent to their destinations through alternative arrangements.

Daudkandi Highway Police Station Officer-in-Charge Prem Das Ray said traffic eased somewhat around 12pm on Saturday but started building up again from 12:30pm. Multiple teams of highway police were working continuously to keep traffic moving and control the situation.