Two boys drown in Kyaukphyu

By DMG 06 Jun 2022

DMG Newsroom
6 June 2022, Kyuakphyu 

The bodies of two brothers who drowned on Saturday in Kyaukphyu’s Thampan Chaung ward were recovered on Sunday morning, according to the township Red Cross Society. 

The two boys, aged 10 and 15 years old, reportedly drowned after being overcome while swimming in treacherous waters. 

“They were swimming around 12 p.m. on June 4, and we were only informed around 7 p.m. We searched for them immediately after. We found the body of the younger one at around 7 a.m. on Sunday, and his brother’s body an hour later,” said U Kyaw Aye Than, a leader of the local Red Cross Society. 

The younger brother was a 2nd grader and the 15-year-old worked casual jobs to support his family. 

“The elder one was a dropout,” said the victims’ grandmother, Daw Aung Than Win. “He sold snacks and worked as a bricklayer and other odd jobs to support his family. That day, he did not need to go to work, and the school was also closed. So, they went to the river, and it ended in tragedy,” said the victims’ grandmother, Daw Aung Than Win. 

Swimming should be prohibited in the area where the two brothers drowned, said fisherman U Maung Ohn Tin, who fishes near there. 

“There is a whirlpool there. There were similar incidents in previous years,” he said.  

A funeral for the drowned brothers was held on Sunday. 

In June 2020, a student from Zedi Taung Kwin ward also drowned near where the two brothers died, according to the Zedi Taung Kwin student’s neighbour, U Than Hlaing.