Myanmar: 28 killed, 219 injured in Yangon-Mandalay highway accidents

Yangon, July 6 (IANS) A total of 28 people were killed and 219 injured in 94 traffic accidents on Myanmar's Yangon-Mandalay highway during the first six months of 2025, according to the highway traffic police force on Sunday.

This marks a decrease in accidents and fatalities as compared to the same period last year, which saw 99 accidents resulting in 52 deaths, an official from the highway traffic police force told Xinhua.

Most of the traffic accidents during this period were due to driving at high speed, he said. The traffic accidents caused damage at over 400 million kyats (about 190,476 U.S. dollars), he added.

In 2024, a total of 203 accidents occurred on the highway, resulting in 88 deaths and 360 injuries, the official said.

Last month, on May 29, Xinhua reported a total of 20 people killed and 159 injured in 58 traffic accidents on Myanmar's Yangon-Mandalay highway between January and April this year, according to a report from the Road Transport Administration Department on Thursday, reported Xinhua news agency.

The number of traffic accidents and fatalities on the highway this year decreased compared to the same period last year, which recorded 59 accidents, resulting in 33 deaths, the report said.

On Thursday, the state-owned Myanmar Radio and Television reported that the major cause of accidents on the highway during the period is human errors, as well as vehicle defects such as tire blowouts during the hot season.

The 587-km Yangon-Mandalay expressway connects the country's commercial city of Yangon and the second-largest city of Mandalay.

Further, A total of 11 people were killed and 66 injured in 26 traffic accidents on the same highway during the first two months of this year, according to the highway traffic police force on March 18.

In the same period last year, 30 traffic accidents occurred on the same highway, killing 23 people, an official from the highway traffic police force told Xinhua.

Among the main causes of traffic accidents in Myanmar are reckless driving, vehicle defects, as well as bad road and weather conditions.

--IANS

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