Yanbye, 22 January
Four people have reportedly died and five others were injured after a passenger bus fell into a gorge in Yanbye Township, Rakhine State; the Ministry of Home Affairs said.
The deadly accident allegedly occurred at a slope mountain between mileposts 75/2 and 75/3 on the Yangon-Kyaukphyu Road near Myo Chaung Village in Yanbye Township at about 4:35 a.m. on 20 January. A passenger bus with 23 people aboard driven by a man named Aung Myo Thet (alias) Aung Aung, 37, plunged into a 40-ft deep ravine after the driver lost control of the vehicle.
Four passengers—three men and one woman—were pronounced dead on the spot while five others including a Buddhist monk sustained minor injuries in the incident. The deceased and injured people were transferred to a nearby rural hospital. The driver of passenger bus is being questioned over reckless driving by the local people, the ministry reported.
Myanmar is thought to be a country with one of the highest numbers of road fatalities in the region. Road accidents occur mostly as a result of poor driving or badly maintained roads or vehicles.—MOHA
Translated by Kyaw Htike Soe
