DHAKA, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- As many as seven members of a family, including three children, died in a road accident in Noakhali district in southeastern Bangladesh on Wednesday, a police officer said.
Mobarak Hossain, officer-in-charge of Chandraganj Highway police station, told reporters that a microbus carrying the victims plunged into a roadside canal in Noakhali's Begumganj sub-district when they were returning home after receiving a relative from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.
"We suspect the driver fell asleep and lost control of the vehicle, causing it to plunge into a roadside canal," the officer said.
All the victims died on the spot after the road mishap occurred at around 6:00 a.m. local time, he added.
Bangladesh has a high fatality rate for road accidents due to shoddy highways, poorly maintained vehicles, violation of traffic rules by inept drivers, and a lack of monitoring by the traffic department. ■
