Bangladesh: 5 crushed to death as BRT girder falls on car in Uttara

A girder of the under-construction Bus Rapid Transit project falls on a car while a crane was moving the girder near Jasimuddin Road bus stop at Uttara in the capital on Monday.

Bangladesh desk: At least five people were killed and two others were injured when a girder from the Bus Rapid Transit Line 3 project crashed on a car at the Jashim Uddin Avenue area in Uttara on the Dhaka-Mymensingh national highway, one of the busiest roads in the country, on Monday.

All the victims were from the same family who were going to attend a post-wedding programme from Kawla under Dakshinkhan in Dhaka to Ashulia when they faced the tragedy.

The girder fell on the car as a crane was trying to move it from one point to another, while the crane itself tilted, police said.

Huge traffic gridlock and a gathering of people were seen in the area following the accident.

The girder was removed from the area around 10:00pm.

Dhaka Bus Rapid Transit Company Limited managing director Safiqul Islam said that a three-member committee was formed to probe into the incident and the committee was asked to submit its report by today.

He also said that they would compensate all the victims.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina expressed deep shock and sorrow over the accident.

The deceased victims are Md Rubel, 50, Fayma Begum, 40, Jharna, 28, Jannat, 6 and Jakaria, 2, Uttara West police station acting officer-in-charge Md Mohsin said.

The injured Rezaul Karim Hridoy and Riya Moni, who got married on August 13, were undergoing treatment at Uttara Crescent Hospital.

The filing of a case over the incident was underway, said OC Mohsin.

Currently, Dhaka Bus Rapid Transit Company Limited, along with the Roads and Highways Department, Bangladesh Bridge Authority, and the Local Government Engineering Department, is implementing the 20.2-kilometre north section of the Greater Dhaka Sustainable Urban Transport Project on the Gazipur-Airport route at a cost of Tk 20,398.5 million.

OC of Uttara West Mohsin said that the accident took place around 4:20pm in front of the Paradise

Tower in the Uttara sector-3 area.

At that time, a BRT Line 3 project crane was lifting a girder, which fell on the car (Dhaka Metro Ga 22-6008) after the crane tilted, he said.

Two injured were rescued immediately and sent to the hospital, while five bodies from the car were recovered around 7:20pm, he said.

Several thousand people gathered in the area during the accident, according to the police officer, while the fire service, Uttara West police station, and airport security forces conducted a joint rescue operation.

‘Due to rescue operations, the road stretching from Azampur to Rajlokkhi area went partially closed,’ Mohsin said.

Traffic gridlock soon spread to the nearby areas, including Nikunja, Banani, Gulshan, and Mohakhali areas for hours, leaving it difficult for many to reach the airport. Many people were seen walking to their destinations.

Rakib Hasan, a relative of injured Rezaul Karim Hridoy said that Hridoy and Riya Moni got married on Saturday.

He said that Hridoy, who was a grocery businessman, was living with his family in the Kawla area of the capital.

Hridoy’s father, Md. Rubel, who worked at a buying house and is from Meherpur, was driving the car to go to the residence of Riya Moni in the Khejurbagan area in Ashulia, Rakib said.

He added that Riya Moni’s mother, Fayma Begum, her maternal aunt Jharna, and two relatives, Jannat and Jakaria, were also travelling in the car.

The bodies of Rubel, Fayma, Jannat, and Jakaria were sent to the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital for autopsy.

Dhaka Bus Rapid Transit Company Limited managing director Safiqul told New Age that the accident took place in the area under Contract 1, which is being implemented by the RHD.

The civil works contractors for the project are the China Gezhouba Group Company Limited, as per the company website.

‘As per our assumption, the accident took place due to some technical problem in the crane,’ he said, adding that the crane had the capacity to carry the girder.’

Replied to a question, he said that the crane was inside the secured area but it tilted, which caused the accident.

Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha reported that in a condolence message, prime minister Hasina prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul and conveyed deep sympathy to the bereaved family.

The prime minister also prayed for a quick recovery of the injured people.

On March 14, six workers, including three Chinese nationals, were injured as a launching girder and a pier cap of the BRT Line 3 project collapsed in separate areas of the capital.

Earlier on March 13, 2017, a worker was killed and two others, including a Local Government Engineering Department engineer, were maimed as a girder of the Moghbazar-Mouchak Flyover collapsed on a rail track in the Malibagh level crossing area in Dhaka.

At Bahaddarhat in Chittagong on November 24, 2012, three girders of an under-construction flyover collapsed, killing 15 people and injuring several others.

The High Court on March 26, 2016, after a worker had died on the construction site, ordered that adequate safety measures should be ensured on the site.