Monks and novices walking to receive offering in the morning.

Yesterday, a car hit two young monks while they were on the street collecting alms from people in Phonhong District.

Vientiane Rescue 1624 reported that the vehicle crashed into the novices and managed to escape from the scene.

After fleeing, the vehicle crashed into an under-construction bridge before authorities could reach the vehicle.

One of the two monks was moderately hurt, while the other was seriously injured.

Lao Buddhists have been expressing their grief and shock on social media towards the accused for crashing and fleeing from the incident.

“Terrible! you will reap what you sow,” one user said on social media.

“Giving alms to the monk is a highly-respected religious practice in Laos, but it is still not quite safe for novices to walk in the street with awful drivers out there,” a local resident added.

Police are investigating further into this incident.