17 killed, 30 injured in Bangladesh bus accident
Dhaka (PTI): At least 17 people were killed and 30 injured when a speeding bus veered off the road and fell into a ditch in Bangladesh on Sunday, according to media reports.
The Dhaka-bound bus operated by Emad Paribahan veered out of control on an expressway in Madaripur around 7.30 am, the police said.
The death toll is expected to climb as many of the injured were in critical condition, the police said.
Madaripur Police Superintendent Md Masud Alam said the injured were admitted to different hospitals.
"The accident is believed to be due to reckless driving and mechanical failure of the bus," bdnews24, a news portal quoted Alam as saying.
Shiplu Ahmed, Deputy Assistant Director of Fire Service, Faridpur, said, "It is believed that the wheel of the speeding bus burst and it lost control and fell into the ditch and hit hard."
Three units of fire service are carrying out rescue work, said Lima Khanam, duty officer of the Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters who is carrying rescue efforts.
They said the dead and the injured were yet to be identified.
Md Sabuj Khan, the counter man of the Shonadanga bus counter told The Daily Star newspaper that the Emad Paribahan bus left for Dhaka with more than 43 passengers.
Road accidents are common in Bangladesh due to old and badly maintained vehicles and roads, as well as poorly trained drivers.
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Had a very good conversation with friend Modi: Trump
Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump on Friday said he had a "very good conversation" with his "friend" Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He was referring to the talks the two leaders had on Tuesday.
"I had a very good talk with him, and he's a friend of mine from India, and he's doing great. We had a very good conversation," Trump told reporters here as he headed to Las Vegas to address a roundtable on tax cuts.
Trump had called Modi on Tuesday to discuss the bilateral relationship and share perspectives on the situation in West Asia, where the US and Israel have launched a war on Iran.
The US and Iran declared a two-week ceasefire on April 7. They engaged in peace talks with Washington, insisting that Tehran give up its pursuit of nuclear weapons and uranium enrichment.
The war with Iran has sent gas prices soaring as Tehran blocked the sea lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow gateway for a fifth of global oil supplies.
During the Trump-Modi phone call on Tuesday, the two leaders stressed the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open and secure.
According to the US Ambassador to India Sergei Gor, the 40-minute conversation ended with Trump telling Modi, "we all love you".
Tuesday's phone call was the second between the two leaders since the US-Israel war with Iran began on February 28.
