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Myanmar ferry sinks, killing 21 with dozens missing

Saturday, 14 March 2015 9:26 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 14 March 2015 9:25 AM ]

File photo of a small ferry full of passengers in Myanmar’s Irrawaddy delta region.

At least 21 people have been killed and 50 others are missing after huge waves capsized a crowded double-decker ferry in northwestern Myanmar, officials say.

The Aung Tagun 3 ferry was carrying more than 200 people when it sank near the town of Myebon in Rakhine state late Friday, the Ministry of Information said in a statement on Saturday.

The passengers were on their way from the town of Kyaukphyu to Sittwe when massive waves slammed against the ferry before it capsized.

“We suspect that the boat sank because it was overloaded with goods,” said a police officer in the town of Sittwe, adding that rescuers were still searching for survivors.

A group of three navy boats and a host of private vessels altogether managed to bring 167 of the passengers to safety, the ministry statement said.

However, 47 people remain unaccounted for, the statement added.

The incident marks the latest in a series of boating accidents along the impoverished nation's lengthy coastline.

In 2010, 10 people were killed when a ferry capsized in the Irrawaddy delta region, while 38 people on board a passenger boat perished when it sank in the Yway River in 2008.

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