C T Online Desk:  Two motorcyclists were killed in an accident as enthusiasm turned into tragedy after the much-awaited Padma Bridge was opened for vehicular movement on Sunday.

Many were seen walking on the bridge indiscriminately and parking their vehicles, flouting the instructions of the authorities.

SM Mizanur Rahman, additional superintendent of police, Naria circle, Shariatpur told New Age that around 8:00pm at Munshiganj end of the bridge a motorcycle was involved in an accident, leaving two people critically injured.

Dhaka Medical College Hospital police outpost in-charge Bacchu Mia said that they were brought dead at the hospital around 10:30pm. The victims are Alamgir, 24 and Fazlu, 25, he said.

Police earlier arrested a man, who unscrewed nuts and bolts of the bridge railing to make content for the video hosting service TikTok.

Amid the chaos, the authorities on Sunday banned plying of motorcycles on the bridge until further notice.

Quoting the bridge authorities, the Press Information Department of the information ministry confirmed the matter in a handout.

In this context, Padma Multipurpose Bridge project authorities sent a letter to the Bangladesh Army requesting to strengthen patrolling and security at the Mawa and Janjira points of the bridge.

The bridge authorities said that they would go for tougher action from today.

The passengers and transport workers, however, appeared very happy as the bridge cut their travel times significantly.

More than 20,000 vehicles, mostly motorcycles, crossed the bridge in both directions in the first 10 hours of the day, officials said.

Mahmudur Rahman, executive engineer of Bangladesh Bridge Authority said that 60.53 per cent of vehicles that crossed the bridge during the period were motorcycles.

Traffic congestion was seen at Mawa point amid a huge rush of vehicles almost all day.

Witnesses said that many vehicles, including trucks, pickup vans, buses, cars and motorcycles joined the queues on both sides of the bridge long before it was open for the movement of regular vehicles in the morning.

The bridge was scheduled to be opened for traffic movement at 6:00am, but Bangladesh Bridge Authority executive engineer Mahmudur said they had a start the process a bit early due to the huge of vehicles.

At 5:50am, a motorcyclist paid the toll at Mawa point to cross the bridge, he said.

As the day passed, the queues at the toll plaza at both Mawa and Jajira points, however, became smaller.