Traffic movement on the Jamuna Bridge resumed around 9:00am today after a road accident involving four vehicles on the bridge’s north lane left vehicular movement suspended for nearly 30 minutes and caused long tailbacks.

The Jamuna Bridge authorities said this morning that the collision involving three buses and a microbus took place near pillar No. 7 of the bridge around 8:30am. Although no major casualties were reported, traffic movement on the bridge came to a halt immediately after the accident.

Officer-in-Charge of Elenga Highway Police Md Sharif said the bridge authorities worked to bring the situation under control following the accident. Vehicular movement resumed after 30 minutes. There is currently no traffic congestion.

Executive Engineer of the Jamuna Bridge Syed Riaz told The Daily Star that rescue operations began immediately after the accident was reported. A wrecker was sent to remove the stranded vehicles.

He said several vehicles had remained stuck on the bridge. The situation was brought under control quickly.

Meanwhile, following the accident, hundreds of vehicles remained stranded for around 20 kilometres on the Tangail side of the eastern end of the bridge. Thousands of homebound Eid travellers suffered due to the long tailback.

Under normal circumstances, around 15,000 vehicles use the Jamuna Bridge every day. However, the number increases several times over ahead of Eid. Due to the excessive pressure, even a minor accident can cause long traffic congestion.