Pupils killed after Burma ferry capsizes

An overloaded ferry carrying schoolchildren to a football game has capsized in Burma’s Ayeyarwaddy Delta, killing at least 19 people, state media reported yesterday.

Authorities are still searching for three people missing after the incident near Labutta township’s Hsalu village, 105 miles south west of Yangon.

In the first official mention of the sinking, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said that 79 passengers were on the boat which went down on Wednesday.

The report said 57 people were rescued. Of the 19 bodies found, 15 were schoolchildren, two were teachers and two were villagers. Rescuers are still searching for two more schoolchildren and an adult villager.

People living in Burma’s vast delta region often travel and transport goods by boat because of the low cost and the inaccessibility of many areas by road.