Sylhet: Nine people, including a child, were killed and several others injured after two buses collided on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway in Osmaninagar upazila of Sylhet on Friday morning.

According to United News of Bangladesh, six of the deceased have been identified. They include Saiful Islam, 50, from Gobrina Lakshmipur village in Kuliarchar upazila of Kishoreganj; Zaifa Islam, 3, daughter of Jahangir Sheikh from Bikrampur in Dhaka; Saptam Roy, 22, son of Uttam Roy from Sobhanighat in Sylhet city; Abul Hossain, 46, from Nabinagar in Brahmanbaria; singer Peheli Bhairabi, 18, from Bhairab in Kishoreganj; and Arman Hossain Rahim, 19, from Laksam in Cumilla.

Inspector (Investigation) of Osmaninagar Police Station, Joynal Abedin, reported that the collision occurred when a Dhaka-bound Unique Paribahan bus collided head-on with a Sylhet-bound Bengal Paribahan Ltd sleeper coach in the Kashikapan area around 7:00 am. The impact resulted in the Unique Paribahan bus falling into a roadside ditch, leading to the immediate deaths of seven passengers, with several others injured.

The injured were promptly rescued and taken to different hospitals. Critically injured Zaifa was transported to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, where she was declared dead by doctors. Another injured passenger also succumbed to injuries at the hospital.

Inspector Joynal Abedin confirmed that all the deceased were passengers of the Unique Paribahan bus. Sherpur Highway Police, Osmaninagar Police Station, and Fire Service personnel quickly responded to the scene to carry out rescue operations.

The bodies were recovered and sent to the hospital morgue for autopsy. Traffic on the highway has since returned to normal, and the two damaged buses are now in the custody of Sherpur Highway Police. The upazila administration has announced Tk 20,000 in immediate financial assistance for each victim’s family.