Two Dead, Eleven Hurt as Speeding Bus Hits Three-Wheeler on Bangladesh Highway, Throws Passengers Onto Road

Dhaka, Bangladesh— A passenger bus collided with a battery-run three-wheeler on a national highway in central Bangladesh Thursday, killing two people and injuring 11 others as both vehicles spun out of control.

The crash happened around 10:20 a.m. local time on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in Gazipur district, according to The Business Standard and highway police. The bus, heading to Dhaka with more than 40 passengers, attempted to overtake the slower three-wheeler, clipped its rear, and then swerved into a roadside ditch. The three-wheeler was thrown 20 meters.

Two passengers of the three-wheeler — a 45-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy — died on the spot. Eleven others from both vehicles were injured, including the bus driver. They were taken to Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital. Three were listed in critical condition with head injuries.

"The bus was speeding, the three-wheeler was in the middle of the highway where it should not be," a highway police sergeant said at the scene. "Both are common here. The law bans three-wheelers on highways, but no one enforces it until after a crash."

Bangladesh has one of the highest road fatality rates in Asia, with more than 5,000 deaths a year officially, and many more unreported. The mix of high-speed buses, slow three-wheelers, rickshaws, and pedestrians on the same undivided highway creates constant conflict. Overtaking is done blind.

Witnesses said the bus was overloaded and its brakes appeared weak. Passengers said the driver had been honking continuously and driving erratically for several kilometers before the crash. The bus company said the vehicle had passed fitness inspection last month, a claim police said they would verify.

Traffic on the busy highway was blocked for more than three hours after the crash, with vehicles backed up for five kilometers. Angry locals blocked the road for an hour, demanding speed breakers and a ban on three-wheelers. Police had to use batons to clear the crowd.

The government has announced multiple road safety campaigns, but enforcement remains inconsistent. Highway police are understaffed, and many three-wheeler drivers pay local officials to operate on banned routes. Bus owners often pressure drivers to make extra trips, encouraging speed.

By afternoon, the wreckage had been towed to the police station yard. The bus's front was caved in, the three-wheeler crushed beyond recognition.

Cases were filed against both drivers. The bus driver was in custody, handcuffed to a hospital bed.