Yangon, Oct 22 (IANS): A car accident on Myanmar's Yangon-Mandalay highway claimed the lives of two people and left 12 others injured on Tuesday morning, according to the highway traffic police force.

The crash occurred when a vehicle hit the rear of a FUSO truck that had stopped on the road due to a flat tire, an official from the highway traffic police force told Xinhua.

Among the injured, two people sustained serious injuries, while the others suffered minor injuries, he said.

All the injured have been transported to Nay Pyi Taw General Hospital for treatment, he added

Earlier on September 9, 2024, a total of 63 people were killed and 233 injured in 128 traffic accidents on Myanmar's Yangon-Mandalay highway in the first eight months of 2024.

From January 1 to August 31, 2024, the dead included 43 males and 20 females, while the injured included 145 males and 88 females.

Last year, 106 recorded traffic accidents resulted in 63 fatalities and 206 injuries, an official from the Nay Pyi Taw Expressway Traffic Police Force told Xinhua.

The main causes of car accidents in Myanmar are vehicle defects, human errors, and road and weather conditions. The majority of traffic accidents in the country are caused by reckless driving.

To reduce traffic accidents on the highway, public awareness programs are conducted and radar devices are used to measure the speed of vehicles along the expressway, and action is taken against speeding vehicles.