Four Qatar residents have died and one man is in critical condition in the hospital after the driver of their minibus lost control of the vehicle and it rolled over several times on the Doha Expressway earlier this week.

The incident happened around 11am on Tuesday, officials at the Bangladesh embassy have said.

The vehicle was carrying eight Bangladeshi passengers from their accommodation near the Wholesale Market to Dukhan Road, First Secretary Mohammad Rabiul Islam told Doha News.

Mohammed Moin Uddin, who was working as a blacksmith, and Mohamed Islamuddin, who was working as a plaster technician and mason, both died on the scene.

Mechanic Muhammed Muhibur and Mohamed Awlad Hussen, who was employed as a laborer, died at the hospital.

They were in their 20s and 30s.

Survivors

Three other passengers have since been released. One passenger, as well as the Egyptian driver, remain in the hospital.

Islam said the exact cause of the collision was not clear. However, he said no other vehicles were involved and that the bus did not appear to hit anything before it rolled over three or four times.

He said one of the surviving passengers told embassy officials that he believed the minibus was speeding at the time.

All of the victims hail from Kanaighat, a subdistrict of Sylhet in northeastern Bangladesh.

Islam said he accompanied Bangladesh’s ambassador in Qatar to the hospital to speak with the survivors.

He added that the embassy is helping to coordinate between hospital officials, the police and the family members of the victims to repatriate their bodies.

Once the police investigation is complete, the embassy will also be pursuing compensation – as well as the final wages and payments from the men’s employer – for the families, Islam said.

He added that the incident shows how quickly careless driving can lead to a tragedy:

“Within a minimum period of time, four people have died and four families have been damaged. Drivers should be careful while (behind the wheel),” he told Doha News.

There are approximately 300,000 Bangladeshi citizens living in Qatar, Islam said.

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