Strong currents hamper search for ferry victims

Strong currents on Sunday hampered efforts to retrieve the bodies of victims of a ferry accident which killed at least 34 people off western Myanmar, as hopes dimmed for the missing.

The “Aung Takon 3” sank late Friday after leaving the town of Kyaukphyu on its way to Sittwe in western Rakhine state. Updating the toll, police said 34 people died in the sinking with a dozen more listed as missing. The ship was officially carrying 214 passengers and crew.

But locals have said they fear many more unregistered ticket holders may have been on board, a common practice on the impoverished nation’s often overcrowded ferry network.