A 90-year-old woman in Feni died after reportedly suffering severe emotional distress when she was mistakenly told that her granddaughter had been killed in a road accident. The devastating twist came later: the granddaughter was found alive and unharmed, but the family could not deliver the reassuring news to the elderly woman in time.
The incident occurred on Sunday evening, 16 August, at Suta Byapari Bari in North Alampur village of Jaylaskar Union, under Daganbhuiyan Upazila in Feni. The deceased, Khairun Nessa, was the wife of Badiur Rahman.
According to family members and local residents, a road accident took place near Silonia Bazar on Sunday afternoon. A Class Six pupil of Silonia High School was killed in the accident. Around the same time, another pupil of the school, Jannatul Fahim, could not be located. Fahim was Khairun Nessa’s granddaughter, and her disappearance immediately caused alarm among relatives.
As the family struggled to establish Fahim’s whereabouts, confusion began to spread. Because one schoolgirl had died and Fahim was missing, relatives mistakenly came to believe that the deceased student might be Fahim. Before the identity of the victim could be confirmed, news of the supposed death reached Khairun Nessa.
The elderly woman was reportedly overwhelmed by the shock. Family members said she became unconscious and collapsed inside her home after hearing that her granddaughter had died. At that stage, the family had not yet discovered that Fahim was safe.
Meanwhile, relatives continued searching and eventually found Fahim alive and unharmed. They began returning home with her, expecting to reassure the family and bring an end to the frightening uncertainty. However, before they could reach Khairun Nessa with the good news, they learned that she had fallen seriously ill.
Her family rushed her towards Daganbhuiyan Upazila Health Complex. Doctors, however, said she had died before she could be brought to the hospital.
Her son, Swapan Mia, said he had gone to Silonia Bazar after learning about the accident and searched for his daughter for a considerable period. When he could not find her, he informed the family at home. His mother then became critically distressed after hearing that her granddaughter had supposedly been killed.
Later, when Jannatul Fahim was found safe, the family experienced a tragic reversal of emotions. The relief of finding the missing girl alive was overshadowed by the death of her grandmother.
Dr Ifrad Khandaker, a physician at Daganbhuiyan Upazila Health Complex, said the woman had already died before reaching the facility. The doctor said she may have suffered a cardiac event at home following the intense emotional shock.
The incident has left the family facing an especially painful chain of events: an actual road accident, a missing child, an unverified assumption and a premature death report combined to create a tragedy of its own.
The case also highlights the serious consequences of circulating unconfirmed information during emergencies. When a person is missing following an accident, identifying victims and establishing facts can take time. A mistaken report can cause extreme distress, particularly among elderly relatives or people vulnerable to sudden emotional shock.
In such circumstances, relatives and bystanders are urged to wait for confirmation from reliable sources before informing others of a death. A few minutes of verification can sometimes prevent an already traumatic situation from becoming even more devastating.
