Sixteen drown, twelve missing in Burma boat accident

YANGON - At least 16 passengers have drowned in a boating accident in Burma with 12 others missing, state media said Saturday.

The 40-feet (12-metre) long boat, which carried 70 passengers, sank in a river Friday, the Myanma Ahlin newspaper said, adding the accident occurred around 30 miles (50 kilometres) southwest of Yangon.

The boat sank while trying to avoid a whirlpool and 42 passengers were rescued, the daily said. The paper did not give the boat's maximum passenger capacity.

Military-run Burma, one of the poorest countries in the world, still depends on small boats as the primary means of transportation.

Agence France-Presse