Death Toll from Ponnagyun Boat Capsizing Rises to 11
AB News – June 15, 2026
The death toll from a passenger boat capsizing in Ponnagyun Township has risen to 11, according to local rescue teams.
The victims were identified as Daw Ma Thaung (61), Daw A Mu Chay (46), Maing Naing Naing Win (26), Daw Yi Yi San (50), Ma Soe Yu Wai (24), Ko Nyan Lin Wai (33), Ko Maung Zi (28), U Khin Maung (66), U Than Kyaw Sein (40), U Thein Kyaw Wai (44), and U Maung Thein Shwe, all residents of Ku Taung Village in Rathedaung Township.
The passenger motorboat, which had departed from Ku Taung Village, sank after colliding with the U Yarzar Mingalar Suspension Bridge in the Kin Chaung waterway in Ponnagyun Township. According to Ko Pyae Phyo Naing, chairman of the Ponnagyun Youths Association, the accident claimed the lives of 11 passengers.
“The boat was carrying villagers from Ku Taung Village in Rathedaung Township to Kyauktaw Town for shopping. While passing through Ponnagyun, it struck the U Yarzar Mingalar Suspension Bridge and sank. At the time, the creek was flooded and the current was very strong, making it impossible to control the vessel, which eventually capsized. Eleven passengers lost their lives in the incident,” he told Arakan Bay News.
Departments under the Arakkha People’s Revolutionary Government (APRG), together with local rescue teams, assisted in recovering the bodies and transporting them back to Ku Taung Village in Rathedaung Township.
Photo: Ponnagyun Youths Association (PYA)