At least 16 people were killed and many others injured in two separate road accidents in Sylhet and Bogura districts on Friday morning.

In Sylhet, a collision between two buses on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway in Osmaninagar upazila left nine people, including a child, dead.

Three 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, and Saptam Roy, 22, son of Uttam Roy of Sobhanighat in Sylhet city.

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 her 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.

In Bogura, seven people were killed and at least 25 others injured after a bus ploughed into day labourers standing by the road in the Erulia Silkibandha area of Sadar upazila.

Four of the deceased were Tajmul, 45, from Joypurhat, Belal from Fapore union of Bogura Sadar upazila, and Amirul and Nur Alam from Gobindaganj upazila of Gaibandha district.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Bogura Sadar Police Station Ibrahim Ali said the bus was travelling from Dhaka to Naogaon when it lost control and hit an electric pole by the Bogura-Naogaon highway around 5:30am.

The bus then rammed into the day labourers who were waiting there for work, leaving seven people dead and at least 25 others injured, he said.

The OC said the injured were rescued and taken to Bogura Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital. The bodies were also sent to the hospital morgue for autopsy.

A large number of people gathered at the scene following the accident, causing severe traffic congestion.