8 dead and almost 20 missing after a boat carrying people fleeing the fighting in Myanmar capsizes

Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — Eight people are confirmed dead and almost 20 are missing after a boat whose passengers included villagers fleeing from fighting in Myanmar capsized in the Andaman Sea. A villager helping rescue operations said Monday about 79 people were rescued from the boat, which was carrying an estimated 100 people. It was heading to the nearby coastal town of Myeik in Myanmar’s southern region of Tanintharyi from the village island of Kyauk Kar, in an estuary leading to the sea. Myanmar has been wracked by violence that began after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.