At least 15 people drowned after being swept away by a tidal wave during a temple festival in Myanmar, local media reported on Sunday.
The incident occurred on an island in the southeast part of the country during the annual temple festival, Sputnik news agency reported. The temple in Mon state is built on an island and can be reached on foot via a stone pathway that gets covered by water during high tide, or by boat, the report said.
According to the Eleven Media news portal, scores of pilgrims crossing over to the island on foot tried to climb into a nearby boat, causing it to collide with another boat, after which both of them sank and people got carried away by a tidal wave.
A total of eight people were saved by the rescue services. They also took out of the water the bodies of 15 victims. The local media report also said that several groups of pilgrims that arrived together to the temple reported some of their friends missing.
The military, the police, firefighter brigades, members of the Red Cross and local volunteers are engaged in the ongoing rescue operation in the Mon state, the news said.
( With inputs from ANI )
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