TURA: Five persons, including three women and a three-year-old child, were killed in a road accident when their speeding three-wheeler tempo lost control due to faulty brakes and dashed on an electric post and a boundary wall at Aglanggre locality here on Monday morning.
The accident which is said to have been caused due to a brake failure occurred around 10.45 am near the Home Guards Compound located in the vicinity.
There were 15 passengers in the auto rickshaw (ML 08 C-9872), which was more than its carrying capacity. The vehicle struck the roadside post before rolling over several times and hitting a nearby wall.
The passengers, all hailing from Bengarbhitta village in Assam’s Mankachar, were on their way to Holy Cross Hospital in Tura when they lost direction and headed towards the Aglanggre road beyond St Mary’s School.
Three women – Sallima Khatum (35), Sajeda Begum (30) and Kunsun Begum (50) – and Abdullah Hussain (3) were among the dead. The other deceased was identified as Saher Ali. A three-month-old baby, who was also in the vehicle, is missing.
Among the nine other occupants of the vehicle who sustained serious injuries are four children, namely Sahiul Islam (3), Saidur Islam (7), Ayub Hussain (7), and a baby girl Moifful Begum aged three.
The other injured passengers include three women Jahanora Khatun (35), Sahima Bibi (30), Mazima Bibi (28), Asaf Ali (70) and driver of the tempo Allimuddin Sheikh (29).
MG Raghavendra Kumar, SP, West Garo Hills, later ordered a high-level probe and an inquiry committee headed by a gazetted officer to look into the issue of road safety. He said stringent measures would be taken based on the outcomes of the inquiry report.
The district police chief has also ordered a clampdown on overcrowded public transport, vehicles ferrying passengers on rooftops and over-loaded buses.
