Twelve people were killed and at least 20 injured when a mail train hit a bus at the Paduar Bazar rail crossing in Comilla.

The accident occurred at around 3 am on Saturday at the Paduar Bazar rail crossing in Comilla Sadar Dakshin Upazila on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway.

The deceased include seven men, three women and two children. However, their detailed identities were not immediately known.

Saiful Islam, sub-inspector of EPZ outpost under Comilla Sadar Dakshin police station, said that a Chittagong-bound mail train hit the Mamun Paribahan bus while it was crossing the Paduar Bazar rail crossing in the early morning.

He said that after the collision, the train pushed the bus for about half a kilometer. The bus was twisted and twisted. Seven people were killed on the spot. Five more died later.

After the accident, members of the Highway Police and Fire Service launched a rescue operation. The injured were quickly rescued and taken to the hospital.

Md. Borhan Uddin, in charge of the emergency department of Comilla Medical College Hospital, said that 12 bodies have been kept in the hospital. 15 of the injured have left after receiving primary treatment. The process of sending the bodies of the deceased to the hospital morgue for autopsy is underway.

Injured passenger Omar Faruk, admitted to the hospital, said, “I was sleeping. Suddenly I felt a strong jolt. Later I saw that the bus was twisted and twisted.”

Three separate investigation committees have been formed in this incident. At the same time, two gatemen have been dismissed.

After the accident, train traffic on the Chittagong-bound line returned to normal from 7:18 am. At that time, the Chittagong Mail bound for Chittagong left Comilla station.