YANGON, Myanmar
Dozens of people are feared drowned after a crowded ferry sank off the western coast of Myanmar late on Friday, officials told local media.
The boat, with more than 200 people on board, was sailing from Taunggok to Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine state, when it ran into rough seas, the Irrawaddy news website reported.
In a statement, the Ministry of Information said 167 people had been rescued off Myebon, with 21 bodies recovered.
Another 47 people, including around 30 women, were still missing from the state-owned Aung Tagun 3, the statement added.
The exact number of registered passengers is likely to be inflated by travellers not on the vessel’s manifest, which is a common practice. Some reports said up to 300 could have been aboard.
Marine accidents are common in Myanmar's river deltas and coastal regions, where aging vessels, overcrowding and bad weather add to the risk. Water transport is relatively cheap and is sometimes the only way to reach isolated areas due to a patchy road network.
In 2010, 10 people were killed when a ferry capsized in the Irrawaddy delta while 38 died in 2008 when a ship sank in the Yway river.
In recent years, Rakhine state has been the departure point for thousands of Muslim Rohingya refugees who pack dangerously overcrowded boats to escape communal violence and repression that swept the region in 2012, leaving at least 200 dead.
