12 dead in Bangladesh bus-train collision

At least 12 people lost their lives and 26 sustained injuries in a devastating collision between a passenger bus and a train in southeastern Bangladesh’s Comilla district during the early hours of Sunday. Among the deceased were two women and three children, according to local fire service officials.

The accident occurred at the Paduar Bazar rail crossing in Comilla city when a Dhaka-bound train departing from the port city of Chittagong struck a bus traveling from the western district of Chapainawabganj toward Chittagong. The impact was so severe that the train dragged the bus approximately one kilometer along the tracks. Ten of the injured remain hospitalized for treatment.

Fire Service and Civil Defense Deputy Assistant Director Mohammad Idris stated that preliminary investigations suggest the bus proceeded onto the railway line due to the absence of a functioning signal at the crossing. The lack of proper signaling infrastructure appears to have contributed directly to the tragedy.

Authorities have responded by forming two separate investigation committees to examine the circumstances surrounding the accident. Two gatemen responsible for the crossing have been suspended, according to local media reports. The crash comes amid Bangladesh’s busy Eid travel season, when millions of people journey from urban centers like Dhaka to their home villages, placing immense pressure on the country’s aging transportation infrastructure. Just days earlier, on March 18, approximately 66 people were injured when the Nilsagar Express derailed in Bogra district’s Bagbaria area.