Football: Afghan players injured in Maldives bus crash

COLOMBO, May 24, 2014 (AFP) - Five players and two officials of the Afghan national team were injured in a road accident in the Maldives Saturday after an AFC Challenge Cup match, a report said.





Afghan skipper Haroon Fakhrudin was among those hurt when the team bus crashed into a motorcycle while returning to a hotel in the southern city of Addu, after the side drew their match against Laos.

"Five members and two officials of Afghanistan's national football team have suffered minor injuries in a bus accident," the local Minivan news said.

It said 10 others were also hurt in the accident on Saturday evening.

Maldivian football official Mohamed Nasir said he was deeply saddened by the accident.

"Accidents happen. We took all the precautions, security was in place.

Police are investigating how a motorcade with sirens met with such an accident," he told Minivan news. Afghanistan are in the semi-finals of the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup and are due to meet Palestine on Tuesday in the capital island Male.

Maldives and the Philippines also play on the same day with the eventual winners of the competition heading to the 2015 Asian Cup.