Nine people, including a child, were killed and several others injured after two buses collided on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway in Osmaninagar upazila of Sylhet on Friday morning.

Six of the deceased were identified as Saiful Islam, 50, of Gobrina Lakshmipur village in Kuliarchar upazila of Kishoreganj, Zaifa Islam, 3, daughter of Jahangir Sheikh of Bikrampur in Dhaka, Saptam Roy, 22, son of Uttam Roy of Sobhanighat in Sylhet city, Abul Hossain, 46, of Nabinagar in Brahmanbaria, singer Peheli Bhairabi, 18, of Bhairab in Kishoreganj, and Arman Hossain Rahim, 19, of Laksam in Cumilla.

Inspector (Investigation) of Osmaninagar Police Station Joynal Abedin said a Dhaka-bound Unique Paribahan bus collided head-on with a Sylhet-bound Bengal Paribahan Ltd sleeper coach in the Kashikapan area around 7:00am.

Under the impact of the collision, the Unique Paribahan bus fell into a roadside ditch, leaving seven of its passengers dead on the spot, he said, adding that the accident also left several other passengers injured.

The injured were rescued and taken to different hospitals. Critically injured Zaifa was taken to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared the child dead. Another injured succumbed to injuries at the hospital.

The police officer said all the deceased were passengers of the Unique Paribahan bus.

Members of Sherpur Highway Police, Osmaninagar Police Station and Fire Service rushed to the spot and carried out a rescue operation.

The bodies were recovered and sent to the hospital morgue for autopsy.

Traffic on the highway is now normal, while the two damaged buses are in the custody of Sherpur Highway Police.

The upazila administration announced Tk 20,000 in immediate financial assistance for each victim’s family.