Dozens feared missing after boat sinks on Myanmar river: media

YANGON, MYANMAR — A boat carrying around a hundred passengers sank on a river in northern Myanmar on Tuesday morning, local media reported, with dozens feared missing.

The vessel sank around 10:00 am (0330 GMT) on the Chindwin River in Mingin township in Sagaing region, local media reported.

Media quoted a source close to the local transport minister as saying a search operation had begun and the number of missing people was being tallied.

A pro-junta Telegram channel also reported a boat had sunk in Mingin township, without giving details.

A junta spokesman has been asked for comment.

Sagaing is a hotbed of resistance to the military’s 2021 coup, with anti-coup fighters clashing regularly with junta troops.

Vessels ferrying people along Myanmar’s coastline and rivers are often dangerously overcrowded, and accidents can have staggering death tolls.

In 2016, 73 people, including many teachers and students, drowned when their overloaded vessel capsized in central Myanmar on the Chindwin River.

— AFP