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One dead, six missing after Myanmar boat sinks on river in China

WION Web Team
Beijing, ChinaUpdated: Jun 26, 2020, 03:23 PM IST
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Photograph:(Reuters)

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Seventeen others -- all Chinese nationals -- were rescued, the Yunnan provincial government said in a social media post. The ship had 24 people on board when it sank.

A boat from Myanmar sank at the intersection of the Lancang River and Nanban River in southwestern China's Yunnan Province early on Thursday, leaving one person dead and six missing.

Seventeen others -- all Chinese nationals -- were rescued, the Yunnan provincial government said in a social media post. The ship had 24 people on board when it sank.

The boat is a Myanmar vessel without operation qualifications.

Search and rescue operations are underway.

The body of one person was found downstream on the Myanmar side of the border, the Yunnan government said.

As of Friday, some 400 people and 17 rescue boats have been dispatched. Local officials said rapid flow has slowed the rescue operation.

The upper section of the Mekong, called the Lancang River, runs through Tibet and Yunnan before entering Myanmar and flowing through Southeast Asia to the sea.