Truck plunges into canal, killing 44 boys

A truck carrying the boys home after watching a football game plunges into canal in southeast Bangladesh yesterday, leaving 44 people dead.

According to AP , the accident occurred in the district of Chittagong, Dhaka the capital, about 216km southeast. Rescuers have pulled the car up last night. They continue to search for survivors and bodies of the victims under a small trench filled with water. Military forces have joined the rescue team.Doctors from the nearby town has been deployed to help survivors.

The car carrying the victims are mostly boys. (Photo: AP)

According to police officials Iftekhar Hasan, a truck hired to transport students home after they watch football. Rental trucks are so common jobs in Bangladesh, to transport a group of people to participate in the festival or celebration.

"The witness recounted that the boy was singing and dancing on the truck. The car skidded off a muddy road and overturned, then plunged into the ditch. " By late Tuesday, authorities ended the search and begin an investigation.

Hasan said about 60 people, mostly children aged 8 to 12, has been on the car was crashed. Among the victims, there is a 30-year-old and three others aged 17 to 20. Driver who survived and fled after the accident occurred. "We just get the name of the driver and are investigating him. We will make arrests in the shortest time, "Hasan said.

People standing around the trench rescue team monitored the salvage victims. (Photo: AP)

The cause of the crash has not been determined, but a message said the driver was talking by phone is lost, when they have to give way to a vehicle traveling the opposite. Rescuers have salvaged 44 bodies from the damaged vehicle and bring them back to their families. Hasan said that at least 12 children being treated in hospital, but can not give the exact number of survivors.

People in about 10 villages took part in evening prayers at a school in the area, while the government and their implementation of the work to bury the victims, mostly Muslims.

Earlier, people were angry smashing several cars in the area, as they say rescue teams arrived at the scene too late. Images on TV shows, some relatives of the victims are crying bitterly.

President Zillur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has sent condolences to relatives of those killed.

Road accidents occur regularly in Bangladesh, due to careless driving, fail to comply with traffic rules and poor road conditions. An independent research group, said every year in Bangladesh, about 12,000 people died in similar accidents.