Over 20 feared dead after river boat capsizes near Myanmar-Laos border

More than 20 people are feared to have died after a boat carrying over 40 passengers capsized in the Mekong River within the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone between Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand on Monday, September 2.

Police officials in Thailand said the incident occurred in the late evening (local time) of Monday when the unnamed vessel suffered engine trouble and overturned due to strong currents as it was travelling from Laos to Myanmar.

Search and rescue (SAR) teams and the crews of some nearby good Samaritan boats have so far found only 16 survivors, all of whom have been identified as Myanmar nationals.

An undisclosed number of deceased individuals have also been recovered from the surrounding waters. One official said that the boat had been overloaded and that the passengers were not wearing lifejackets at the time of the incident.

Local authorities have begun an investigation into the tragedy as the SAR operation is ongoing. Police officials believe that, due to the strong currents of the Mekong, some of the missing victims may have ended up further downstream from where the capsizing occurred.