15 March,2015 11:10 AM IST | | IANS
Toll in the Friday's shipwreck off the coast of Myanmar's western state of Rakhine has risen to 60, with dozens of people still missing, media reported Saturday
Bangkok: Toll in the Friday's shipwreck off the coast of Myanmar's western state of Rakhine has risen to 60, with dozens of people still missing, media reported Saturday.
The state-owned passenger ship 'Aung Dakun-3' went down Friday night near the municipality of Khyaukpyu while making the crossing between Taunggup and the state capital of Sittwe, the Myanmar International TV channel said.
Aboard the double-decked ship were more than 400 travelers, of whom more than 170 were rescued by the authorities and personnel of non-governmental organisations working in the area.
"I've heard they found around 60 bodies and that some 170 people have been rescued," Aung Win, a lawmaker for Myebon in Rakhine state, told the online site Eleven Myanmar.
"We're still looking for more passengers," Khin Maung Tun, a spokesman for the ship's operator Inland Water Transport, told the same portal.
Authorities pointed to the powerful waves as what possibly sank the ship.
