Moe than 30 dead as ferry sinks off Myanmar
More than 30 people are believed to have been killed in a ferry disaster off the western coast of Myanmar, local officials say.
Rescuers were scouring a vast area off the western coast of Myanmar on Saturday where a ferry loaded with hundreds of people had sunk a day earlier.
A police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that 33 people have been killed and that dozens more remain missing.
“The latest death toll is 33 - four men including a monk and 29 women. At least 12 persons are still missing,” said the officer in the western town of Sittwe, adding that 169 people have been rescued since a search operation was launched right after the ferry went down at 8.30 pm (1400 GMT) Friday.
The vessel, known as Aung Takon 3, sank hours after it departed Kyaukphyu for Sittwe in the Rakhine State. It was believed to be carrying 214 registered passengers but officials predicted that the outdated ship may have been carrying at least 100 more unlisted people, which may have caused the vessel to sink. Official statements claimed that the sinking was caused by an overload.
“We suspect that the boat sank because it was overloaded with goods,” the police officer said.
Maung Lone, a local member of parliament, hinted that the final death toll may be much higher, saying, “There are many dead bodies which didn't appear yet."
Rohingyas fleeing violence
Carrying unregistered ticket holders is a common practice in the busy shipping networks of Myanmar, an impoverished nation also grappling with unrest. Meanwhile, desperate Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State have been forced to escape by boat in huge numbers in fear of the crackdown by ethnic Buddhists.
Nearly 200 people have been killed in the violence which erupted in 2012 forcing Muslims to depart for Thailand and Malaysia in their thousands. According to the estimates, close to 140,000 are trapped in areas around Sittwe as they have lost their homes in the violence.
Another study by The Arakan Project shows that some 100,000 Rohingya Muslims have used small and dangerously overcrowded boats to flee the violence over the past three years.
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