Three people died and four sustained injuries on Tuesday morning when a sand-laden truck collided head-on with a three‑wheeled auto‑rickshaw in Natore.

Police said the crash happened on the Lalpur–Ishwardi regional highway in Lalpur upazila. An auto‑rickshaw travelling from Lalpur towards Ishwardi lost control, veered into the opposite lane and hit an oncoming truck.

One passenger died at the scene, officials said. Two others later succumbed to their injuries in hospital. The four injured, admitted in critical condition to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, remain under treatment.

Police identified the dead as Zahidul Islam, Monirul and Babul. They were all residents of the same union council in Lalpur.

Mojibur Rahman, officer‑in‑charge of Lalpur police station, said authorities had sent the bodies to Natore district hospital for post‑mortem examinations.