Sierra Leone's former football star Lamin Bangura has died at the age of 59, the Sierra Leone Football Association announced on Wednesday.
Bangura died after a bus he was travelling in hit a stationary vehicle in Konta Line in Sierra Leone's Northern Province on Tuesday.
Until his death, Bangura was the head coach of Sierra Leonean football club Ports Authority FC.
The football legend, his crew members and Ports Authority FC players were travelling from the capital Freetown to Kenema in the Eastern Province for a match against Kahunla Rangers FC when the accident occurred.
Players injured
The fixture scheduled for Wednesday was indefinitely postponed following the crash.
Bangura succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday at a hospital in Freetown.
Six players of Ports Authority FC sustained varying degree injuries in the accident, and were taken to a hospital in Freetown for treatment.
During his active years as a player, Bangura, who was a centre-back, helped Sierra Leone qualify for the 1994 and 1996 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.
'Legend'
Amidu Karim, the current Sierra Leonean national team head coach, has eulogised Bangura as a "legend, brother, friend and mentor."
Thomas Daddy Brima, the president of the Sierra Leone Football Association, said Bangura "gave his all for Sierra Leone; both as a player and coach."
Mohamed Lamin Kamara, the secretary-general of the Sierra Leone Football Coaches Association, said Bangura was "a very accommodating and respected man that you would not like to meet once in your life time."
"The association is in great turmoil for the loss of such an irreplaceable soul," Kamara said in a statement.
2021 AFCON
Bangura worked as a member of the Sierra Leonean national team's technical staff at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
Sierra Leone exited the tournament in the group stage.
Bangura's club, Ports Authority FC, are 11th in the 18-team Sierra Leone Premier League, with 22 points after 18 matches.
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