Myanmar aid ship sinks
11/05/2008 15:46  - (SA)  

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Geneva - The first cargo ship carrying relief supplies for cyclone victims in Myanmar has sunk, the international Red Cross said on Sunday.

The ship, which was travelling from the capital, Yangon, to Mawlamyinegyun in the Irrawaddy Delta, apparently hit a submerged tree trunk and began to take on water, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in a statement.

It sank near Myinka Gone village.

"This is a great loss for the Myanmar Red Cross and for the people who need aid so urgently", said Aung Kyaw Htut, who leads the Myanmar Red Cross distribution team.

"This would have been our very first river shipment and it will delay aid for a further day."

Rice, water on board

The crew members, including four Myanmar Red Cross aid workers, managed to get to safety, the organisation said.

The cargo was aid for up to 1 000 people. It included 100 bags of rice, 5 000 litres of drinking water, 10 000 water purification tablets, 200 jerry cans and 30 boxes of clothes.

Also on the boat were household items for 30 families, 1 000 bars of soap, 800 rubber gloves and 1 000 surgical masks.

Locals and aid workers managed to save some of the relief goods and started to carry them to the nearest town for onward shipment, the IFRC said.

Food contaminated

The organisation said it was unable to say how much of the cargo has been lost. But saved food supplies would now be contaminated with river water, it said.

The IFRC's disaster manager in Yangon, Michael Annear, said the sinking was "a big blow".

"Apart from the delay in getting aid to people we may now have to re-evaluate how we transport that aid," he said.

According to the government, 28 458 people died in the May 3 cyclone and 33 416 are missing.

Some international aid organisations say the death toll could climb to more than 100 000 as conditions worsen.

The IFRC, which coordinates the relief work of the Myanmar Red Cross, has said that so far the humanitarian effort has supported 220 000 people.

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