IDP from Kyauktaw displacement camp drowns in Kaladan River

By Admin 29 Jul 2024

DMG Newsroom
29 July 2024, Kyauktaw

A young man from Nay Pu Khan camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Arakan State's Kyauktaw Township drowned in the Kaladan River on the evening of July 28, family members said.

The 21-year-old deceased, identified as Maung Min Zaw Hlaing, was a cargo worker at an Indian-funded jetty in Kyauktaw.

"He earns a living as a cargo worker. The workers have to compete with each other to get the cargo from the cargo boats docked at the jetty as quickly as possible. He was in the river yesterday when he swam to get to a cargo boat and drowned," said a family member.

"Many workers at the jetty have to work hard to load the goods. The river is rough due to heavy rains, so he was swept away by the current. He was working for a living and I am very sad that this happened," the family member added.

Maung Min Zaw Hlaing was an IDP man from Sittwe who had been taking refuge at the Nay Pu Khan displacement camp in Kyauktaw Township. His body had not been recovered as of press time.

"He drowned while working outside the displacement camp. We would like to ask the concerned officials to provide us with food," said an IDP woman.

Mobile phone and internet access blackouts, and lack of money and goods, have severely limited the ability of relief organisations to operate, with IDPs facing many livelihood and health difficulties as a result.

Several IDPs in Arakan State also recently drowned when a bridge that they were crossing collapsed as they were fleeing fighting between Myanmar's military regime and the Arakkha Army (AA) in Thandwe Township.

The bridge collapse, blamed on torrential rains in the region, killed at least seven IDPs including children on July 27.