Fifteen Buddhist pilgrims including a monk were killed after their flatbed truck plunged off a 300-metre (1,000 feet) cliff in eastern Myanmar, police said on Tuesday, blaming faulty brakes.
The accident happened Monday evening in Shan state as the truck carrying 25 people was returning from a Buddhist festival.
Police officer Myint Soe told AFP the cause of the crash was brake failure as the vehicle rounded a turn.
“Fifteen people were found dead while 10 were severely injured,” he said, adding that the steep and challenging terrain made for a risky overnight search for victims.
Buddhist-majority Myanmar sees thousands of people travel widely on journeys to religious festivals and pagodas during summer.
But poorly maintained vehicles are often go-to options for cheap travel and the country lags behind others in the region on road construction and safety enforcement.
Source: Punch
