DHAKA, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Seven people were killed as the gas cylinder of a CNG-driven microbus exploded after the vehicle hit a highway divider in Bangladesh's central Faridpur district Saturday morning, a police official said.
Ziarul Islam, officer-in-charge of Bhanga Police Station in Faridpur, some 101 kilometers away from the capital Dhaka, told journalists that the accident took place as the driver lost control over the wheel and hit the highway divider.
The microbus heading towards Dhaka soon caught fire after its cylinder exploded, he said, adding that all the seven passengers were burnt to death.
Informed by locals, firefighters rushed to the spot and doused the fire.
Bangladesh has one of the highest fatality rates for road accidents in the world mainly due to shoddy highways, poorly maintained vehicles, gas cylinder explosion-related fires, violation of traffic rules by drivers, and lack of monitoring of the traffic department.
As many as 328 people were killed and 565 others injured in 304 road accidents from April 15 to April 29, during the Muslim Eid al-Fitr festival rush in Bangladesh, said a report published here in May. ■