Dozens of People Missing, Feared Dead After Ferry Sinks in Myanmar
An overloaded ferry carrying more than 200 people sunk off the coast of western Myanmar after being hit by a large wave.
At least 47 people are feared dead, according to NBC News, reporting what government officials said.
The accident happened late Friday.
The ship, the Aung Takon, was reportedly carrying roughly 209 passengers and crewmembers at the time of its travels. However, residents from the Taunggok area believe the death toll is higher as ferries often carry unregistered passengers. The ferry was on the way from the coastal town of Taunggok to Sittwe, capital of Rakhine state.
"Twenty bodies have been found while 27 are still missing. Rescue workers are looking for them," said Pyay Nyein, a senior official from the Inland Water Transport Department, according to Reuters.
Nyein said 167 had been saved after the ferry sank. Others are either missing or dead.
Three navy boats and many private vessels were sent to scour the waters once news came in the ferry had gone down.
Myanmar residents rely heavily on ferries for transportation to travel along the nation's coastline so ferry disasters are not uncommon in the area. Residents crowd on small boats to get to their destinations.
Ten people were killed in 2010 after a ferry capsized in the Irrawaddy delta region. Another 38 died in 2008 when a ship went down in the Yway River.
Muslim Rohingya often escape on extremely old and poorly maintained boats to escape to Thailand and Malaysia for sanctuary. They are attempting to flee the violence between the Buddhists and Rohingyas that have left at least 200 dead since 2012. The Rohingya are referred to as "Bengali" and are seen as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh despite some Rohingya being able to trace their ancestry back to the Myanmar country for generations.
The Arakan Project, a rights group monitoring departures, estimated in October that about 100,000 Rohingya have fled by boat since 2012.
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