Three persons were killed and another was hurt after a speeding van ploughed into a tractor trolley parked along the busy Dhaka-Chittagong highway  in Chandina upazila early on Thursday.

Of the deceased, two were daily wagers loading sand on to the tractor trolley. Police said that they were crushed to death under the van that rammed the tractor trolley and overturned. The van driver, cops said, also died in the impact of the crash.

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The deceased were identified as daily wagers -- Nurul Islam, 40, a resident of Harikhola village in Cumilla's Chandina upazila, and Foizar Rahman, 40, of Savar in Dhaka. Liton, 40, was the driver of the van.

According to the highway police, Nurul and Foizar were loading sand on to the tractor trolley in front of a market in the Harikhola Mazar area in the morning when the Dhaka-bound van crashed into the tractor trolley after its driver lost control of the vehicle.

A unit of Chandina Fire Service carried out the rescue operation. Nurul and Foizar died on the spot, while Liton succumbed to his injuries on the way to hospital.

Md Rahmat Ullah, Superintendent of Police of Highway Police Cumilla Region, said that the injured tractor driver, Amir Hossain, has been shifted to Cumilla Medical College and Hospital. "A probe has been ordered into the accident."

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Road accidents in Bangladesh

Road accidents are common in Bangladesh and have been a major cause of deaths.

During the last Eid-ul-Fitr holiday rush, road accidents claimed 323 lives in just 15 days, said Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Shamiti, a human rights body.

Besides, 513 people, including 63 children, were killed and 598 injured in 409 road accidents across the country in March, said Road Safety Foundation on April 5.

According to the NGO, 147 lives were lost in 138 motorcycle accidents, which is 28.65% of the total deaths.

Read: Three killed in Thakurgaon road crash

In a report released in February 2020, the World Bank pointed out that Bangladesh needs to invest an estimated $7.8 billion over the next decade to halve its road crash fatalities.

The report attributed the high death rate on Bangladesh’s roads to lack of investments in systemic, targeted, and sustained road safety programmes.