A picnic trip turned into a tragedy for 15 school students as two of them died and the remaining sustained injuries on their way back when a vehicle they were travelling in plunged into a roadside ditch in Sherpur on Tuesday night.
The deceased were identified as Saidul Islam, son of Selim Mia, and Abu Taleb, son of Ismail Hossain of the upazila's Purbakharia Kajirchar area. The injured are being treated at hospitals.
The accident occurred near the Kalakanda-Diarchar bridge in Sribordi upazila. "The students had hired a vehicle to go to the picnic spot in Jhenaigati upazila. While returning, they had hired another vehicle that veered off the road and fell into the ditch around 11.30pm," Abul Hashem, OC of Sribordi Police Station, said.
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The accident left the 15 students injured, six of them critically. Two of them were declared dead on arrival at Sribordi Upazila Health Complex, while the four others had been shifted to Sherpur District Hospital in the wake of their worsening medical condition, the officer said.
"Efforts are on to arrest the driver of the ill-fated vehicle," he added.