By Kyaw Ye Lynn
YANGON, Myanmar (AA) – More bodies have been recovered from a muddy Myanmar river, as authorities battle to lift a sunken overloaded ferry to the surface.
Cranes and heavy machines were being utilized Wednesday to raise the 40-ton Aung Soe Moe Kyaw, which sank Saturday carrying around 300 passengers.
On Wednesday, regional lawmaker Tun Tun Win told Anadolu Agency that a further five bodies had been found, taking the death toll to 40, while around 80 people are still missing.
Many of those on board were university students, teachers and civil servants returning home for a Buddhist festival.
“The tail part was lifted yesterday where we found five bodies,” Tun Tun Win said by phone, adding that rescuers were being hampered by the smell of what remained inside.
“More dead bodies have been seen in that part."
The Aung Soe Moe Kyaw capsized Saturday on Chindwin River in the central Sagaing Region.
Preliminary reports have indicated it may have hit a rock as it approached a village.
According to local media, the boat was overloaded when it left Homalin for Monywa town, about 130 kilometers (80.7 miles) west of Mandalay, the second largest city in Myanmar.
Police have said that although 154 passengers have been rescued, there may have been as many as 300 aboard, far above the authorized limit.
Local police officer Htein Lin has told Anadolu Agency that four crew had been detained after the incident.
“Crews confessed that the ferry was also carrying too heavy a cargo,” he said.
Boat accidents are common in Myanmar, where people living along the nation's long coastline and flood-prone river systems rely heavily on often-overcrowded ferries for transport.