Garbage truck driver dies in highway accident

A garbage truck driver was killed in a highway accident on Thursday when his vehicle veered off road and tipped over.

According to police, 49-year-old Ismail Ismailov from Bulgaria was driving a garbage truck Thursday early morning, around 5:45am, moving southbound on the Nicosia-Larnaca highway.

Reports said the vehicle veered off the road around 5:45am and struck the guardrail under circumstances still pending investigation, with police saying the truck rollover injuring Ismailov as well as two other men aged 27 and 23.

Ismailov was rushed to the Emergency Room at Nicosia General Hospital where doctors on duty pronounced him dead on arrival.

Police said the two other males were treated for minor injuries at Larnaca General and were released.

Local media said the accident caused a major traffic jam in both directions on the highway, with cars being diverted through the Pera Chorio exits and back on the highway near Lymbia.