Teacher Dies After Boat Capsizes While Shopping for School Ceremony Attire

In Kawkareik Township, Karen State, a teacher drowned after a motorboat capsized while returning from buying clothes for students' graduation ceremony, according to local residents.

Around 12:30 PM on August 24, the boat capsized after its engine failed between Kawkhoik Village and Nauk Khaun Kone Village in Kawkareik Township. Four teachers and four civilians on board fell into the water, and two motorcycles being transported on the boat also sank into the river.

"The boat was overloaded. It was carrying 8 people, 2 motorcycles, and other goods on the return trip. The water surface was wide, and the engine failed mid-river. The boat spun with the current and capsized. The spot where it capsized was an area where the water had risen and flooded the fields," a local resident said.

All four teachers did not know how to swim and were swept away when they fell into the water. Three teachers were rescued in time, but teacher Nang Myint San Oo was carried away by the current.

"All four teachers had gone to buy clothes for the school's graduation ceremony. This happened on the way back. All four teachers had transferred from other regions and didn't know how to swim. Right when it happened, three were rescued. One was carried off by the current and disappeared. Villagers searched for her, but after a long time, they only found her body," a local resident said.

The teacher who drowned was serving at the Basic Education Middle School in Nauk Khaun Kone Village, Kawkareik Township. Her body was cremated on August 25 at the village where she was stationed, according to reports.