Bomb blast injures 17 people on ferry crossing Yangon River — H Talk Asia
A suspected mine blast injured 17 passengers traveling on a ferry from Yangon to Dala Township, many seriously.
The Cherry 2 ferry was crossing the Yangon River on Sunday night when an explosion on the lower deck ripped the ship apart.
The injured – 15 men and two women between the ages of 18 and 40 – were taken to Yangon General Hospital for emergency treatment.
"The explosion was very loud. I was 200 yards from the ferry and I was shaking," a member of the volunteer rescue team, who declined to be named for safety reasons, told RFA.
"Most of the passengers were hit in the legs and there was excessive bleeding. All were taken to the general hospital by the rescue team members to stop the bleeding. There were no deaths."
Some local news organizations reported that five of the injured were bleeding to death as of Monday morning, but Yangon General Hospital director Dr. Thida Hla, confirmed to RFA that no one died.
The junta's information group told RFA that the ferry departed from Yangon's Pansodan Pier at 6:40 p.m. Sunday, bound for Dala. A home-made mine was said to have exploded when the ferry was 50 meters (164 feet) from shore, injuring 17 people.
No group claimed responsibility for the explosion. Local anti-junta guerrilla group Yangon People's Brigade issued a statement condemning any action that harmed the public and expressing condolences to the innocent victims.
A Dala resident, who also asked for anonymity, told RFA residents from Dala, Twantay and Kungyangon townships to take Yangon's larger cherry boat because it only cost the equivalent of 9 cents, compared to small boats that cost 47 cost cents. He said he does not support the bombing of civilian targets by guerrilla groups or the junta.
"I condemn the bombing of such a place, whether it was carried out by a People's Defense Force or the State Administrative Council. There must be some responsibility for this incident," he said.
On October 19, 2022, multiple bombings at a package receiving center in Yangon's Insein Prison killed eight people, including family members of political prisoners and prison staff, and injured 18 others. A relatively unknown guerrilla group, the Special Task Agency of Burma or STA, claimed responsibility.
In July, a bomb blast near Dagon Center, one of Yangon's busiest shopping malls, killed two people and injured nine others. Neither group claimed responsibility for the explosion.
Translated by RFA Burmese. Written in English by Mike Firn.
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