Toll rises to 60 in Myanmar shipwreck

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.

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