At least nine aid workers were killed and 10 injured after a Red Cross truck filled with relief material for Rohingya refugees crashed into a ditch in Bangladesh on Thursday morning, AP reported.
Reuters reported that the bus skidded off a hilly road and plunged into a paddy field.
The crash took place near the Bangladesh-Myanmar border in Bandarban district. Six workers died instantly, and three others succumbed to their injuries after reaching a hospital, a local medical administrator was quoted as saying.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has said all those killed were Bangladeshi workers sent to distribute food packages to 500 Rohingya families.
The incident came hours after a Buddhist mob attacked another Red Cross aid shipment in the violence-hit Myanmar. The majority Buddhist community in Rakhine state has accused international organisations of favouring the Rohingya Muslim community.
Lakhs of Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar to Bangladesh in recent weeks, after violence broke out in Rakhine state. The United Nations has referred to the crisis in Myanmar as an “ethnic cleansing”.
Rohingyas have been denied citizenship in Myanmar and are classified as illegal immigrants. The community has been subjected to violence by the Buddhist majority and the Army in Myanmar, though the country has repeatedly denied this claim.
The United States has said it will contribute $32 million (around Rs 205 crore) to help Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar.
Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s de-facto leader, has been facing criticism from world leaders, and the crisis has threatened to jeopardise Myanmar’s US-aided shift toward democracy after five decades of military rule.
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