Boat Capsizes Off Ranong--Burmese Migrant Workers

[sbk]

Thai police retrieve 22 dead Myanmar migrants from the Andaman Sea

The Associated Press

Published: December 23, 2007

BANGKOK, Thailand: Marine police have retrieved the bodies of 22 Myanmar migrant workers found floating off the west coast of Thailand, police said Sunday.

Acting on information from fishermen, a police search party found the corpses in the Andaman Sea near Ranong province Saturday.

"We do not know why or when the boat or boats sank, but we believe that they must have been overloaded and sank in that area about two days ago," said police Lt. Col. Yongyuth Preechachart in Ranong.

The bodies of the eight women, 10 men and four children were being kept at a Buddhist temple in Ranong, Yongyuth said, adding that a local doctor may conduct autopsies of the bodies there.

Ranong, some 290 miles south of the Thai capital Bangkok, is a major trading and commuting point on the Thai-Myanmar border.

Many people from impoverished Myanmar cross the border illegally to seek work in Thailand.

Source: Intl Herald Tribune

[kat]

Sad.

[seonai]

Very sad indeed... and even sadder that if this had happened to tourists this post would have been FULL of pages and pages of posts... what does that say eh?

[Nirvana]

Very sad indeed... and even sadder that if this had happened to tourists this post would have been FULL of pages and pages of posts... what does that say eh?

agree completely. hardly makes the news which is sad

[seonai]

In fact it should have been moved to News - sorry

[Mosha]

I've talked to my wife, and she heard nothing about this. That stretch of water is very busy I can only imagine it was a night crossing for this to be unobserved. When you go down to Ranong immigration, the lockup there is always occupied with the illegal Burma they round up.

[seonai]

Anyway it is still enormously sad that these families died possibly in an attempt to reach greener grass... and no one is much bothered about it except 3-4 of us here

[0Mix1up]

Of course its sad

But so are the many road fatalities, are they ALL going to get coverage?

[Nirvana]

Of course its sad

But so are the many road fatalities, are they ALL going to get coverage?

This is about a boat capsizing and 22 dead with little or no word about it or interest, do not think there are many traffic accidents with 22 dead at one time that would not make the news. Its the principal here , not sure you got that..

[seonai]

Exactly Nirvana - if a similar accident happened with tourists on board this thread would be 35 pages long by now at least

[Globeliner]

Anyway it is still enormously sad that these families died possibly in an attempt to reach greener grass... and no one is much bothered about it except 3-4 of us here

You are joking right?

[seonai]

No I'm not joking. I meant that they were probably trying to get into Thailand to escape the hel_l hole of Burma