A bus carrying members of the Union Karenni State Youth (UKSY) crashed en route to Naypyidaw on Sunday, leaving one passenger dead and more than 20 injured.

Hkun Beetoo, secretary of the UKSY, said the Shwe Kayah express bus, en route to the Burmese capital from Loikaw in Karenni State, crashed at 4pm on 26 October near Tatkon, some 30km north of Naypyidaw.

“The bus’s brakes gave way while it was travelling at around 80kmph,” he said. “The driver managed to make it round the first turn, but the bus skidded on stones at the second curve and spun around, before crashing heavily off the road.”

He said there were 33 passengers on board, all UKSY members, plus the driver and his assistant. The young man who was killed was named as Pwa Lu from Demoso town in Karenni. Four others remain in critical condition.

The UKSY were on a visit to the capital to take a tour of the Union Parliament.

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