Yangon, Nov 9 (IANS) Five people were killed and 12 others injured in a car accident in eastern Myanmar's Shan state on Sunday, an official from the Myanmar Fire Services Department said.

The accident occurred at around 1.20 p.m. local time after the car's brakes failed, causing it to plunge into a roadside ditch in Kalaw township, the official said, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Of the 17 people on board, two males and three females died, while six males and six females were injured, he said.

The car was en route from Taunggyi to Mandalay when the accident took place, the official said.

Local fire service personnel and rescue organisations rushed to the scene and transported the deceased and the injured to Kalaw People's Hospital, he added.

On November 3, two people were killed and seven others injured in a road accident in eastern Myanmar's Shan state, a local police officer told Xinhua.

The accident occurred in Kengtung township of Shan state, he said, adding that the vehicle overturned, reportedly due to speeding. All the victims were males. One died at the scene, and another died upon arrival at the hospital, he said. The injured were taken to a local hospital for treatment, he added.

On October 22, five people were killed and four others injured in a car accident in central Myanmar's Magway region, an official from the Magway region fire services department told Xinhua. The crash occurred at around 1.30 p.m. local time in Magway town when an oil tanker carrying three people and a light truck with six people collided head-on. Two people from the oil tanker and three from the truck died at the scene.

--IANS

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