Eight missing including child as boat sinks in Yangon, Myanmar
Published date: Wed, 10 Jul 2024 17:47:42 +0700
Locals are searching for eight people including a child who are missing after a ferry capsized on the Yangon River in Myanmar today.
The boat was carrying 17 people when it collided with a passing tugboat on the the river, close to the industrial heartland of the city at around 8am local time.
A paramedic told local media that maritime police, firefighters, rescue teams and ferry boat drivers are all searching for the missing people.
Officials said the survivors pulled from the water included two school children, the boat's pilot and six other passengers.
The city, formerly called Rangoon before the country changed its name from Burma, has become notorious for its dangerous water crossings with overcrowded boats.
In 2016, 73 locals drowned when an overloaded vessel capsized in central Myanmar on the Chindwin River.
