A disastrous Friday morning on Bangladesh's highways saw two separate traffic accidents in Sylhet and Bogura districts claim the lives of at least 16 people and leave dozens more injured.

In Sylhet's Osmaninagar upazila, a head-on collision between two passenger buses on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway resulted in nine fatalities, including a young child.

Inspector (Investigation) of Osmaninagar Police Station Joynal Abedin confirmed that a Dhaka-bound Unique Paribahan bus collided directly with a Sylhet-bound Bengal Paribahan Ltd sleeper coach in the Kashikapan area around 7 am.

The force of the impact forced the Unique Paribahan bus off the road and into a roadside ditch, resulting in the immediate deaths of seven passengers at the scene.

Emergency responders—comprising members of Sherpur Highway Police, Osmaninagar Police Station and the Fire Service—rushed to the location to conduct rescue operations and send the bodies to the hospital morgue for autopsy.

Several injured victims were evacuated to nearby facilities, including a critically injured three-year-old child and another passenger who both succumbed to their injuries at Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital.

Inspector Abedin noted that all the deceased were passengers of the Unique Paribahan vehicle, though their identities could not be confirmed immediately.

Meanwhile, in Bogura district, a reckless bus crash killed seven people and left numerous others injured when the vehicle plowed into a group of day laborers gathered beside the road in the Erulia Silkibandha area of Sadar upazila.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Bogura Sadar Police Station Ibrahim Ali stated that the Naogaon-bound passenger bus from Dhaka lost control around 5:30 am along the Bogura-Naogaon highway, struck an electric pole, and subsequently crashed into laborers who were waiting for daily employment opportunities.

The devastating impact left six dead on the spot, while dozens of injured victims were rescued and transported to Bogura Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital, where another victim later died, bringing the casualty toll to seven dead and between 15 to 25 injured.

The identities of these victims also remain unconfirmed.

The crash drew large crowds to the scene, triggering extensive traffic gridlock along the highway before authorities restored order.

With Inputs from UNB