The victims were identified as Akash Iqbal, 27, and his wife Maya Hazarika, 25.

The incident occurred around 7am on the main road in front of Padma Oil gate near the airport crossing when the couple was heading towards Khilkhet on a motorbike.

Akash and Maya died on the spot after their motorcycle was hit by a bus of Ajmeri Glory Paribahan, said Sub-Inspector Md Imran Hossain of Airport Police Station.

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Police recovered the bodies and sent them to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for post-mortem examination, he said.

The bus was seized but its driver is on the run.

Akash worked at a private company in Baridhara DOHS and his wife was an employee of a residential hotel in airport area, according to Mizanur Rahman, cousin of Akash

They were going to their workplaces when the accident occurred.   

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They are survived by their 4-year-old daughter Afran.

Road accidents in Bangladesh

Road accidents in Bangladesh remains one of the leading causes of deaths in Bangladesh. In the last five years, 37,170 people were killed in 26,902 accidents across the country.

Besides, 82,758 people were injured in these accidents, according to a report released by Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity (BJKS), a passenger welfare body, in October last year.

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According to the report, 8,642 people were killed and 21,855 injured in 6,581 road accidents in 2015 alone.

In 2016, some 6,055 people were killed and 15,914 injured in 4,312 road accidents.

Road safety is a global development challenge. Every year, 1.35 million people worldwide lose their lives while driving, cycling, or walking on the road and another 50 million are seriously injured.

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A recent World Bank study has shown that for South Asia as a whole, a 50 percent reduction in road deaths would generate an estimated gross benefit of about $1.2 trillion.