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Accidents caused by thick fog claim 11 lives in Bangladesh
DHAKA, Jan 12 (AFP) Jan 12, 2006
Accidents caused by a thick blanket of fog across Bangladesh have claimed at least 11 lives and left 47 injured, officials said Thursday.

Two people died and five are missing after two ferries collided in the River Meghna near Chandpur in central Bangladesh on Wednesday district police Inspector Kamrul Hassan told AFP.

"The river was thick with fog. The ferries were going in opposite directions in poor conditions when they collided," he said.

Seven people were also killed and 35 injured, including 17 seriously, when two buses collided in dense fog on Wednesday in northwestern Rangpur district.

A second collision Thursday involving two buses, also in Rangpur, claimed one more life, police said.

Another person was killed and 12 injured in a pile-up on a highway Thursday in southern Munshiganj district, said district police inspector Kamrul Islam.

Much of the country has been enveloped by thick fog since Tuesday.

Poor visibility severely disrupted transport as millions travelled to their home villages to celebrate Wednesday's Muslim festival of Eid al Adha.

The Meteorological Department said the fog was likely to clear over the next few days as the country emerged from a cold snap which has killed two people and seen temperatures fall as low as 6.2 Celsius (43.2 Fahrenheit) in the southwestern district of Jessore.

The normal seasonal temperature is between 11 and 12 Celsius.

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