A man was killed and at least 12 others injured when a passenger bus collided with a covered van on the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway in the early hours of Saturday morning, according to local fire service officials.

The accident occurred around 1am in the Dogachi area of Srinagar Upazila in Munshiganj district, approximately 30 kilometers south of Dhaka. The bus rammed into the back of the covered van, causing severe damage to both vehicles.

Dewan Azad Hossain, station officer of the Srinagar Fire Service, confirmed the incident and identified the deceased as Masud, a resident of Madhya Chandra village in the Amtali Police Station area of Barguna district in southern Bangladesh. The victim's presence on the expressway suggests he may have been traveling the roughly 250-kilometer route between his home district and the capital.

Fire service personnel arrived at the scene shortly after receiving reports of the crash. The rescue team extracted the injured from the wreckage and transported them to the Srinagar Upazila Health Complex for treatment. The extent of their injuries has not been disclosed, though local officials indicated several victims sustained serious trauma.

The Dhaka-Mawa Expressway, Bangladesh's first elevated expressway, opened to traffic in stages beginning in 2023. The 55-kilometer, four-lane highway was designed to dramatically reduce travel time between Dhaka and the southwestern districts, cutting what was once a four-hour journey to just over an hour under ideal conditions.

However, the expressway has witnessed a troubling pattern of accidents since its inauguration. High speeds, inadequate lighting in certain sections, and driver unfamiliarity with expressway protocols have contributed to numerous collisions. Transport safety advocates have repeatedly called for enhanced enforcement of speed limits and improved roadside assistance infrastructure.

Bangladesh's road safety record remains among the worst in South Asia. According to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, over 6,000 people die annually in traffic accidents nationwide, though independent observers believe the actual figure may be significantly higher due to underreporting.

Early morning accidents are particularly common on Bangladesh's highways, where long-distance buses often travel at night to avoid daytime traffic congestion. Drivers frequently work extended shifts without adequate rest, and vehicle maintenance standards vary widely across the fragmented transport sector.

The circumstances that led to Saturday's collision remain under investigation. Authorities have not yet indicated whether speed, mechanical failure, or driver error contributed to the crash, nor have they released information about potential charges.

For Masud's family in Barguna, the tragedy underscores the risks faced by millions of Bangladeshis who regularly traverse the country's expanding but often hazardous road network. The expressway that promised safer, faster travel has instead delivered another grieving household to a district already familiar with the human cost of Bangladesh's development ambitions.