4 killed, 5 injured as 2 trains pass through rail line bazaar in city:Daily Sun

The snap shows the body of a victim being carried away from the accident spot in the capital’s Karwanbazar area on Thursday. sun photo At least four people, including two women, were killed and five others injured when a crowd trapped between two moving trains in the capital’s Karwanbazar area on Thursday. The victims were named as Abdul Malek, 50, director of cash crop wing of the department of a
gricultural extension, Monowara Begum, 45, a housewife, and Nur Mohammad, 55, a banana vendor, while the other remained unnamed. Nur hailed from Tarakanda upazila of Mymensingh district, said Dhaka Medical College Hospital police outpost Insp Mozammel Haq. Eight of the injured were rushed to DMCH where three succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment there. The injured—Fazlu, his nephew Rajib, Shahid, Salma Begum and Parul Begum—are receiving treatment at DMCH. Most of the victims went over there for shopping as an illegal makeshift fish market sits mornings, said Karwanbazar level crossing gateman Abu Ahmed. The market lies some hundred yards off the level crossing, he added. The crowd stood on another rail track to avert accident while Chittagong-bound Karnaphuli Express was passing the level crossing around 8:30am. “At the same time, Jamuna Express from Mymensingh reached there through the track the crowd was standing on. And the inevitable happened as they could take no notice of the arrival of the train.” Abu mentioned. Eyewitness Abu Bakar said Jamuna Express hit the crowd, leaving the banana trader dead and injuring eight to 10 others. Abdul Mazid, officer-in-charge of Kamalapur GRP station, said four persons were killed and five others injured in the accident. “We have filed a case with the police station to this end,” he told daily sun. Farida Begum rushed to the spot hearing her banana trader husband’s death. Nur went to Karwanbazar early morning to buy the tropical fruit. Mazid said, “Fish market sits illegally on the rail track. Some influential people have also grabbed both sides of the track and built shops there.” People cannot get space to avert accident when a train passes the track, he remarked. As to inaction of the administration, the OC said, “I requested fish vendors several times not to sit on the railway track but to no avail, they didn’t pay heed to me.” A total of four gatemen were deployed at the crossing during the mayhem. Motiur Rahman, another gateman, said, “We signalled to the crowd before the trains were approaching, but they couldn’t respond in time.”