As many as 17 people were killed and more than a dozen others were injured after a bus plunged into a roadside pond in Chhatrakanda area of Jhalakathi Sadar upazila in Bangladesh on Saturday. There were seven minors and five women among the victims. The Barishal-bound bus from Bhandaria upazila to Pirojpur fell into the pond as its driver lost control of the wheels near the local union parishad office at around 9.55 am while giving side to an auto rickshaw, Jhalakathi Sadar police station Officer-in-Charge Nasir Uddin said.
At least 35 passengers were injured in the accident and were taken to Jhalakathi District Hospital.Local firefighting units are trying to recover the bus from the water body. The bus ‘Bashar Smrity Paribahan' was carrying around 60-70 passengers, according to locals. Rescue workers recovered 13 bodies from the scene, while four others died in the hospital, according to Dr Zahirul Islam, the district's civil surgeon.Among the injured, five have been sent to Barishal's Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital, he said. The others have been admitted to local healthcare facilities. Traffic on the Khulna-Jhalakathi highway was closed after the incident, leaving hundreds of vehicles stranded on each side.