19 Killed As Myanmar Bus Plunges Into Gorge
Muhammad Rameez Published April 29, 2017 | 12:25 PM
YANGON, , (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Apr, 2017 ) - Nineteen people were killed and 21 injured after their bus toppled into a ravine in eastern Myanmar, police said Saturday. The bus was carrying around 40 passengers from central Bago province when it plunged off a highway near Myawaddy, a town on the Thai border, on Friday.
"Nineteen people were killed and 21 people were injured, while a few people were lucky to live," Kyi Lin, the chief of police in Karen state, told AFP. "(The bus) fell down into a narrow and deep gorge," he said, adding that police believe the driver lost control of the bus because of a brake failure.
Police and local aid groups have brought the injured to nearby hospitals for urgent care and are making funeral arrangements for the dead, he added.
A hospital in Mae Sot, the Thai town across the border, took in seven patients from the crash who were in "critical condition," a medical worker told AFP.
Road accidents are common in impoverished Myanmar, whose transport network is in poor condition after decades of underinvestment by the junta that ruled the country for almost half a century until early 2011.
With 20.3 road fatalities per 100,000 people, Myanmar has the second most dangerous roads in Southeast Asia, according to data collected by the World Health Organization in a 2015 report. Despite its relatively good infrastructure, neighbouring Thailand has an even worse road safety record. The WHO estimates about 24,000 people die each year in traffic accidents on Thai roads.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
HEC reviews curricula for environmental sciences degree programme
ICC Asia looking forward to an action-packed Asia Cricket Week
Yuvraj Singh named ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Ambassador
Greece hands Olympic flame to 2024 Paris Games hosts
Two Kyiv hospitals evacuating over feared Russian strikes
World must act on neurotech revolution, say experts
Charles & Catherine's cancer diagnoses
Champions Alcaraz and Sabalenka through in Madrid Open
King Charles to resume some public duties during cancer treatment: palace
US defense chief announces $6 bn in security aid for Ukraine
Heavy rains cause damage to Spezand-Taftan railway track
Woman stabbed in Israel, attacker killed: police
More Stories From World
-
NFL will allow players to wear Guardian Cap helmets in games
4 hours ago -
Football: German Bundesliga table
4 hours ago -
Football: Italian Serie A result
4 hours ago -
Football: German Bundesliga results
4 hours ago -
US troops to leave Chad in second African state withdrawal
4 hours ago -
Plastics pollution may be solved without production cap: Canada minister
4 hours ago
-
Biden stalls on menthol cigarette ban fearing Black vote backlash
4 hours ago -
Champions Alcaraz and Sabalenka through in Madrid Open
4 hours ago -
6,000 French police to welcome Olympic torch amid bonus boost
4 hours ago -
Taiwan hit by several quakes, strongest reaching 6.1-magnitude
5 hours ago -
'Ballistic' Bairstow stars as Punjab pull off record T20 chase
5 hours ago -
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results - 2nd update
5 hours ago