The accident occurred on Thursday night in the Paniarup area of the district's Kashba upazila.

The deceased were identified as Iqbal, 23, Amjad, 15, and Payel, 21.

Officer-in-Charge of Kashba Police Station Md Alamgir Bhuiyan said the three died on the spot after their bike was hit by the truck. "We have seized the truck but its driver managed to flee," he said.

Also read: Road crashes killed 484 in Jan 2021

Alarming rate of road accidents

Road accidents are one of the leading causes of deaths in Bangladesh, as 37,170 people were killed in 26,902 accidents across the country in the past five years.

In January 2021 alone, as many as 484 people were killed and 673 injured in 427 road accidents across Bangladesh -- a 25.58% rise year-on-year, according to Road Safety Foundation (RSF).

At least 445 lives were lost in 340 road accidents in January last year, RSF said on Saturday.

Moreover, between January 1 and January 31 this year, 168 people were killed in 159 motorcycle crashes -- 37.23% of the total road accidents.

Also read: Road crashes kill seven in three districts

WB Report on road safety

As per a World Bank report, published in February 2020, Bangladesh needs to invest an estimated extra $7.8 billion over the next decade to halve its road crash fatalities.

The report attributed the high death rate on Bangladesh roads to a chronic lack of investment in systemic, targeted, and sustained road safety programmes.

The annual road crash deaths per capita in Bangladesh are twice the average rate for high-income countries and five times that of the best-performing countries in the world, it said.

Children and the working-age population were most affected by road crash injuries in Bangladesh, the World Bank report added.

Also read: Taskforce formed to ensure road safety: Minister