Yangon (AFP) – At least 20 people are missing, feared dead, following a boat mishap on the Mekong river in the “Golden Triangle” area between Laos, Myanmar and Thailand, officials told AFP on Wednesday.
The incident happened late on Monday during “strong currents” on the river that divides the three countries, police chief in Thailand’s northern Chiang Rai province Manop Senakul told AFP.
“At least 20 people are missing,” he said, adding that a further 16 Myanmar nationals had been rescued.
Myanmar media reported the boat had been carrying people to Myanmar from Laos when it got into difficulties after its engine failed. Video uploaded to social media and geolocated by AFP showed people on the Laos side of the river pulling people out of the fast-flowing water.
Most of the missing are from the semi-autonomous Wa enclave in eastern Myanmar, Nyi Rang, spokesman for the United Wa State Army (UWSA), told AFP.
“Details are unknown yet as we are still investigating the incident in cooperation with (Laos) authorities,” he said.
He did not elaborate on why those from the Wa region were travelling on the river but the incident happened close to the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Laos.
The SEZ is home to a number of Chinese-owned casinos and hotels and has emerged as a suspected hub for cyber scam centres, drug smuggling, gambling and other criminal activities.
The Wa region on Myanmar’s border with China is virtually locked off from the rest of Myanmar, ringed by checkpoints and tight internal controls, and uses the Chinese yuan and internet services in its territory.
The UWSA also holds territory near the border with Thailand and Laos.
It is the best-equipped of Myanmar’s dozen or so ethnic rebel groups. Analysts say China supplies much of its weaponry.
Such incidents are common in Myanmar, a poor country with rudimentary transport and weakly enforced safety regulations.
In 2016, 73 people, including many teachers and students, drowned when their overloaded vessel capsized on the Chindwin River in central Myanmar.
Torrential downpours during the June-October rainy season swell rivers in the Southeast Asian country, making travel and navigation more difficult.
