A car accident in Naypyidaw claimed the life of outgoing President Thein Sein’s bodyguard on Sunday night, the President’s Office has confirmed to The Irrawaddy.
Brig-Gen Win Myint, the head of President Thein Sein’s security detail, died late Sunday night following the crash, which occurred in front of the Central Bank of Myanmar on Yaza Thingaha Street in the country’s capital.
“He passed away in a car accident at around 11 p.m. yesterday,” said Zaw Htay, the deputy director-general of the President’s Office.
An eyewitness returning from a festival described the scene of the accident to The Irrawaddy.
“I saw a smashed car near the central bank. An ambulance took a patient…There were a lot of security personnel and other authorities,” he said.
The victim had recently been promoted from Colonel to Brigadier-General. According to sources in Naypyidaw, he has been the bodyguard of President Thein Sein since he assumed office in 2011.
