A devastating early-morning road accident in central Bangladesh has claimed the lives of at least 15 people and left 10 more injured, local law enforcement confirmed, striking as families across the country prepared for the major Islamic festival Eid al-Adha. The crash unfolded around 5 a.m. Monday in the Soratoil area of Tangail district, a region located roughly 52 miles northwest of Bangladesh’s capital city Dhaka, according to Fuad Hossain, chief of local police. The truck, which was transporting iron rods along the country’s major highway, was traveling from Dhaka to the nation’s northern region when its driver lost control, causing the vehicle to flip. Tragically, the truck was carrying far more people than it was legally permitted to hold, with dozens of extra hitchhiking passengers seeking travel to their hometowns for the holiday. Hossain confirmed that 15 passengers died instantly at the scene of the crash. Most of those killed were day laborers, who were making the journey to reunite with their family members for the four-day festival, a time marked by feasting, prayer and community gatherings in Muslim-majority Bangladesh. Immediately after the crash, local residents who heard the sound of the accident rushed to the site to begin rescue efforts, pulling trapped survivors out of the wreckage before emergency services arrived. Injured victims were quickly transported to nearby medical facilities for treatment. This latest fatal crash highlights a long-running and deadly public safety crisis in Bangladesh, a densely populated nation of more than 170 million people. Thousands of people die in road accidents across the country each year, a crisis fueled by systemic issues including lax enforcement of traffic safety regulations, poorly maintained highway infrastructure, and large numbers of unqualified or under-trained drivers operating heavy commercial vehicles. As the country enters one of its busiest travel seasons of the year, safety advocates have repeatedly called for urgent government action to address these gaps and prevent preventable deaths on Bangladesh’s roads.