Myanmar junta says boat sank in ‘whirlpool’; media reports bodies recovered

YANGON — A boat that sank on a Myanmar river foundered in a "whirlpool," the junta said Wednesday, as local media reported that at least a dozen bodies have been recovered.

The vessel was traveling as part of a group, the junta's information team said in a statement, though it is not clear whether the ships belonged to the military.

The junta also gave no details of casualties, though local media said around 100 people were on board and BBC Burmese cited locals as saying 12 bodies had been found.

The vessel sank in a "whirlpool... near Mauk Ka Taw village of Mingin Township" in northern Sagaing region around 10 a.m. (0330 GMT) on Tuesday, the junta statement said.

It said the sinking was being "investigated" without giving further details.

Sagaing region is a hotspot of resistance to the military's 2021 coup, and junta authorities regularly cut internet access in the region, making details difficult to verify.

A spokesman for the Sagaing regional government did not respond to requests for comment.

In 2016, 73 people, including many teachers and students, drowned when their overloaded vessel capsized on the Chindwin river. — Agence France-Presse