• Most Popular
  • Most Shared

38 killed in Myanmar delta ferry sinking: report

YANGON
Fri Jul 4, 2008 6:05am EDT

YANGON (Reuters) - At least 38 people died when their ferry sank in a river in Myanmar's cyclone-hit Irrawaddy delta, official newspapers reported on Friday.

World

Another 44 passengers were rescued on Tuesday morning when the vessel sank in the Yway River near Myaungmya, one of the delta towns worst hit by Cyclone Nargis in early May.

"The boat sank after water entered the stern as it traveled to Myaungmya from a nearby village on July 1," the state-owned Myanma Alin newspaper said.

Boat accidents are common in the impoverished army-ruled country where several sinkings or collisions involving overloaded vessels occur each year. Many boats in the Irrawaddy delta were destroyed by the cyclone's 120 mph (190 kph) winds and 12 ft (3.5 metre) sea surge. The storm left more than 138,000 people dead or missing.

(Reporting by Aung Hla Tun; Editing by Darren Schuettler)



More from Reuters

 A picture of an arrow in this file photo. REUTERS/File

The coming Great Inflation

Real or imagined, Americans have plenty of things to worry about. Should inflation be one of them?  Full Article 

People walk past a branch of Bank of America in New York's financial district April 28, 2009. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Move your money

Boycotting "too big to fail" banks is a great idea -- so long as investors remember that banks aren't the only ones responsible for the crisis.  Full Article