41 school-goers among 46 dead-Up Mirsarai in Chittagong, Bangladesh

Big News! Big News! Yesterday Happened Big Accidentin one of the worst tragedies in Bangladesh's history, 41 school students and three others have died after a mini-truck that were carrying them back from a football match crashed and toppled into a roadside pond in Mirsarai in Chittagong. 

Local residents, who had gathered at the site by their hundreds, said between 60 and 70 students were enjoying themselves at the back of the truck that they had chartered. It skidded off the muddy road after crossing a bridge and overturned into the water-filled ditch around 1:45pm. The driver lost control of the vehicle at the connecting road between Bara Takia and Abu Torab Bazaar, only one and a half kilometres away from the school. Most of the students were trapped inside the flipped truck and could not get out despite the fact that the depth in the ditch was not much. But the flanks of the vehicle were raised that acted as stumbling blocks. Locals said they hurled themselves into the shallow water and upended the truck to pull out those trapped. But some students died there while others perished on way to hospital. One survivor said he saw the man at the wheel was the driver's assistant and he was speaking into his mobile phone while driving recklessly moments before the accident. Mirsarai Upazila executive officer (UNO) Syed Kutub told Monday that the students of Abu Torab Government Primary School lost to Magadia Anjuman Nesa Government Primary School in the final match of the second-round of he union council-level Bangabandhu Gold Cup Football Tournament at Mirsarai Stadium. Afterwards, the students of Abu Torab primary and high schools, Abu Torab Fazil Madrasa and Professor Kamal Uddin Choewdhury College hired the open cargo truck. Mirsarai Police Station officer-in-charge (OC) Iftekhar Hasan told bdnews24.com many parents and relatives had taken some bodies away from the scene without the knowledge of the local administration. The death country climbed as the day wore on, he added. Later, two police teams went out to nearby villages and encouraged them to give out information. Chittagong district commissioner (DC) Foyez Ahmed and OC Iftekhar said they had discovered another body from a nearby village late in the evening.

 After the search and rescue operations were called off, police sent 46 up bodies to the Mirsarai Upazila Health Complex, Matrika Hospital, a nearby private clinic and the Chittagong Medical College Hospital or CMCH.

Primary and mass education minister Afsarul Amin, divisional commissioner Sirajul Haque Khan, DC Foyez Ahmed, Chittagong district DIG Nawsher Ali, Mirsarai Upazila council chairman Gias Uddin Ahmed attended the namaz-e-janaza.

Of the deceased, 27 were identified as Titu Das, 16, Liton Das, 17, Ananda Das, 12, Dhrubo Nath, 17, 'Rony', 15, 'Imran', 17, 'Iftekhar', 16, 'Jahidul', 13, 'Kamrul', 16, Jahidul Islam, 16, Swapan Debnath, 'Raju', 'Rajeeb', 'Shuvo', 'Saju', 'Rafiqul', 'Arif', 'Sazzad', 'Jewel', Mesbah Uddin, 'Jewel', 'Saidul', 16, Shamsuddin Rony, Mesbah Uddin, 18, Sakhawat Hossain, 12, 'Shamsuddin', 12, and 'Anwar', 30. 

Chittagong district's superintendent of police (SP) Z A Morshed said Fire Service personnel pulled the truck out of the canal around 4:45pm and that no more bodies were found inside the wreckage.

Navy divers searched the canal for an hour but found no more bodies, Morshed added.

Police, RAB, Coastguards and Fire Service personnel launched rescue operations with the help of residents of Madhyam Mayani Syed Ali village under 13 Mayani union immediately after the accident had happened. Later, Navy divers and Army rescue team joined the operations.

 Health minister AFM Ruhal Haque has directed the medical officers of the Mirsarai Upazilla Health Complex to ensure proper treatment of the injured.

A group of doctors from Chittagong and Feni districts have already joined the team following the minister's over-the-phone directive, the ministry said in a statement.

Speaker Mohammad Abdul Hamid, Awami League general secretary and LGRD minister Syed Ashraful Islam, Chittagong mayor M Manzur Alam, former mayor and president of city Awami League A B M Mohiuddin Chowdhury, city BNP president Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury and BNP vice chairman and former minister Abdullah Al Noman sympathised with the bereaved families and Every The government will provide families of the deceased Tk 20,000 each, the primary and mass education minister said. They will also get Tk 5,000 each from the local MP engineer Mosharraf Hossain, it was announced.