The deceased have been identified as Morshed Alam (50), Joynal Abedin (54), Humayunur Rashid (40), Majed Hossain (38), and Ripon Hossain (35).
According to police and eyewitnesses, the Lakshmipur-bound bus, which had departed from Noakhali’s Chowmuhani, veered off the road and fell into the Rahmatkhali Canal around 8:30 AM on Saturday. The bus was retrieved from the canal approximately four hours after the accident. The incident caused a one-hour disruption of traffic on the Lakshmipur-Dhaka regional highway, leading to severe congestion on both sides. Traffic was restored to normal after an hour with the assistance of the army and law enforcement agencies.
About four and a half hours after the incident, divers arrived to check for any missing passengers. Local residents expressed anger, claiming that the delayed response from the fire service exacerbated the damage.
OC Fayzul Azim Noman stated, “Five people died after the bus plunged into the canal. A diving team is working to confirm if anyone else is missing.”
