Son's Heartbreaking Cry, 'Now I don’t need clothes, I need you, father'

Tuhin and his father were returning to northern Bangladesh from Halishahar in Chattogram along with many others to celebrate Eid with their families. Like many passengers, they chose a truck ride to save travel costs.

That decision turned tragic.

On Monday, a rod-laden truck they were traveling in met with a horrific accident on the Dhaka–Tangail–Jamuna Bridge highway. At least 15 people were killed in the incident, including Tuhin’s father.

Devastated after losing his father, Tuhin broke down in tears and said, “Father, you said you would take me home and buy me new pants and shirts. Now I don’t need clothes—I need you.”

Tuhin and his father worked as street vendors in Chattogram. He said he had been sleeping with his head on his father’s lap inside the truck. When he woke up, everything had changed forever.

“I woke up and saw my father trapped in the truck. The truck had overturned into a ditch. I survived, but my father’s body was stuck inside the vehicle,” he said.

Overwhelmed with grief, Tuhin kept blaming himself. “Why didn’t I wake up earlier? When I opened my eyes, I saw his body trapped. The truck had already fallen into the ditch.”

He also alleged that rescue workers arrived nearly three hours after the accident. According to him, an earlier response might have saved more lives.

Tuhin said their home is in Shibganj, Chapainawabganj. His father’s name was Nazrul Islam. To reduce travel expenses for Eid, they boarded the rod-laden truck from Halishahar.

“Eight of us got on from there. Another 19 passengers boarded from Feni. We were all heading toward Chapainawabganj and Rajshahi,” he said.

The accident occurred around 4:30 a.m. in the Saratiail area of Kalihati upazila in Tangail when the northbound truck lost control and plunged into a roadside ditch. Injured victims were taken to Tangail General Hospital for treatment.

Local residents and police said that most of the passengers were asleep at the time of the accident, which is believed to be a major reason for the high number of casualties. When the truck plunged into the ditch and was severely mangled, many people are thought to have died on the spot.

After receiving the news, members of Elenga Fire Service, Jamuna Bridge East Police Station, and officials from the Jamuna Bridge authority quickly reached the scene and launched a rescue operation. Later, 15 bodies were recovered from the site.

Due to the rescue operation, traffic on the Dhaka-bound lane of the highway was halted until around 5:30 a.m. Later, authorities diverted Dhaka-bound vehicles through the Bhuyapur link road, while northbound traffic was rerouted via the old road, after which the situation began to normalize.

The Officer-in-Charge of Jamuna Bridge East Police Station, Khandaker Fuad Ruhani, said that traffic movement on the highway is now largely normal compared to earlier. He added that the rescue operation has been completed and necessary legal procedures are underway.

Following the incident, the Superintendent of Police of Tangail visited the scene and supervised the rescue efforts. Police’s preliminary assessment suggests that the accident occurred after the driver lost control of the vehicle.