A double-decker ferry that set sail Friday night capsized in Myanmar, also known as Burma, due to poor weather conditions, killing a reported 33 people with at least a dozen missing, according to officials.
The government-owned ferry departed Kyaukphyu at around 8:30 p.m. on Friday and went on to travel fifty miles before it reached the huge rough waves that would eventually capsize the boat. In addition to the bad weather, overcrowding—which is common—is believed to be a factor.
At first the Ministry of Information said a whopping 50 passengers were missing, but the Rakhine State government later said an exact number was unclear.
Myanmar’s Red Cross disaster management chief, Maung Maung Khin, said 167 people have been rescued after the ferry sank near Myebon in Rakhine State. Search-and-rescue teams are still looking for the missing.
Many speculate these official numbers could be misleading since they’re only based on ticketed ferry passengers, which many ferry riders aren’t always.
