Four teenagers playing near a railway track were crushed to death by a speeding train in Nilphamari’s Sadar upazila early on Wednesday morning.
The identities of the deceased could not be known immediately. But all of them were boys aged between 12 and 14 years, police said.
The accident occurred around 7am when the four teenagers were playing near the railway track in the Boubazar area of the upazila.
“Rajshahi-bound Titumir Express hit the boys, leaving them dead on the spot,” said Lutfur Rahman, the officer-in-charge of Nilphamari Government Railway Police.
Train accidents in Bangladesh
Train accidents are common in Bangladesh, many at unmanned level crossings and some due to the poor condition of tracks.
According to data provided by the Bangladesh Railway, in August 2019, only 466 gates of its 1,412 level crossings had gatemen.
In November 2019, a deadly collision occurred between Dhaka-bound Turna Nishita Express and Chattogram-bound Udayan Express on the Dhaka-Chattogram route near the Mandbagh railway station in Kasba upazila of Brahmanbaria.
The train crash had left at least 16 people dead and over 100 others injured.
At least 113 people, including 26 women and 11 children, were killed in railway accidents between January 1 and June 30 this year, according to a July report, jointly prepared by the Green Club of Bangladesh (GCB) and the National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads and Railways.
Source: United News of Bangladesh