Chiang Rai – The Royal Thai Navy’s Mekong River patrol ten people have been rescued after a charter boat carrying about 40 Myanmar nationals from Laos heading to Tachilek Province in Myanmar capsized. Thirty passengers remain unaccounted for and are feared drowned.
The charter boat sank in the middle of the Mekong River near the Golden Triangle Special Special Economic Zone port in Ton Pheung City, Bokeo Province, Lao PDR, opposite Chiang Saen District and Tachilek District, Myanmar.
According to eyewitnesses, when the boat reached a bend in the Mekong River, the engine suddenly stopped, and the driver could not maneuver the boat. The massive current caused the boat to spin uncontrollably and capsize, causing about 40 passengers and crew to fall into the Mekong River.
People on the shore looked on helplessly as locals drove a small boat parked nearby and came to help. The locals managed to pull 10 people from the river and brought them to the shore in Chiang Saen, Chiang Rai. The fate of the rest is still unknown.
According to authorities, it is still unclear which port the chartered boat sailed from in Laos and who the passengers were. Thai officials speculate that victims were illegal Myanmar workers being deported from Laos back to Tachileik Province.
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