Two people have died after one fell off a boat into the Thayet River, and the other jumped into the water to save her, police confirm.
The accident took place on Sunday morning near Thayet River village in Rakhine State’s Rathedaung Township. Around 8am, a group of villagers in the area left to go retrieve bamboo poles and transport them back across the river. As the boat was approaching the village shore on its journey back, one of the poles knocked over a woman who was onboard, causing her to fall into the river. Knowing that she didn’t know how to swim, another passenger, a man, then jumped into the water to try to save her, but unfortunately also drowned himself.
The deceased have been identified as 42-year-old Than Win, a resident of Buthidaung Township, and 33-year-old San Thar Aung, from Thayet River village.
A Rathedaung police officer told Kumudra that the two knew one another because they lived in neighboring villages.
The Rathedaung fire department searched the 120-feet long river and successfully retrieved the bodies. According to villagers, there used to be a rope bridge across a section of the river, although that was destroyed by this year’s heavy rains.
