At least 14 people including two members of a family were killed and around 30 others injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a sand-laden truck at Sarkarpara in Baraigram upazila of Natore early Tuesday.
Police have so far confirmed the identities of 11 of the deceased including the drivers of the bus and the truck, said Natore Deputy Commissioner Shumoni Akter.
The deceased were identified as bus driver Sohel Rana, 40, son of Abdul Hakim of in Godagari upazila Rajshahi; Anwar Haque, 30, son of Babar Ali of Bagmara upazila of Rajshahi; truck driver Kalam, 50 of Jhenaidah; Salal Molla, 45, of Zajira upazila of Shariatpur; Md Shahin, 35, son of Razzak of Kazirhat in Zajira, Shariatpur; and Sohag, 30, son of Yunus, from Dubi Sahabur village in the same upazila. Abdus Samad, 70, son of Arab Ali Fakir, from Dubi Sahabur village in Zajira upazila of Shariatpur; and Rashel, 35, of Kalamudanga village in Sapahar, Naogaon.
Two other deceased are Shahidul Islam, 45, of East Subidkhali village in Mirzaganj upazila of Patuakhali and his eight year old daughter Tasfia.
Sub-Inspector Alamgir Hossain of Banpara Highway Police Station said the accident occurred when a bus operated by RP Paribahan, travelling from Barishal to Rajshahi, collided head-on with a sand-laden truck coming from the opposite direction, leaving nine people dead on the spot.
Among the injured, five victims died at different hospitals and clinics, said the DC
The injured were rescued and taken to Natore Sadar Hospital, Rajshahi Medical College Hospital and other local clinics and hospitals for treatment.
Several of them were reported to be in critical condition.
Road crashes remain a major cause of deaths and injuries in Bangladesh, with 7,359 people killed and 16,476 injured in 7,584 road accidents across the country in 2025, according to the Road Safety Foundation (RSF).
In September alone, 442 road crashes claimed 423 lives and injured 674 others, averaging 14 deaths a day.
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam at a workshop in Dhaka on September 7 said nearly 5,000 people die in road crashes in Bangladesh every year, as the government aims to halve road crash deaths by 2030 and formulate a comprehensive Road Safety Act by December 2027.