Seven Missing after Mudslide Hits Myanmar Refugee Camp Mae Hong Son

MAE HON SON – Seven people have been reported missing after a mudslide hit a Myanmar refugee camp in Mae Hong Son on Sunday night, with another 16 confirmed injured, a provincial official said on Monday.

Charuek Laoprasert, assistant to the Mae Hong Son governor, said a torrent of mud and rocks, triggered by heavy rain in the northern province, poured down the hill and into the refugee camp at Ban Mae La Oon in Sob Moei district.

Seven people were missing, and 16 other people were being treated for injuries, he said.

Medical staff and other assistance have been sent to the camp, which is near the border with Myanmar.

Details of the injured and missing people have not been released.

Ban Mae La Oon is by the Yuman River. It houses about 9,000 displaced people from Myanmar, most of them ethnic Karen, according to figures released in August last year by the Border Consortium, a non-governmental organization helping Myanmar refugees along the Thai border.

Meanwhile in Ratchaburi Province, overflows have been reported by residents along the Mae Klong River after the Vajiralongkorn and Srinagarind dams increased their water release rate in anticipation of additional inflow.

The province has informed all related units to be on the lookout for developments in the water situation in the area, and urged motor boat drivers to limit the speed of their craft, in order to prevent water washing into already flooded houses.

 

Source: Bangkok Post