YANGON, July 13, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Myanmar rescuers have recovered five bodies, including that of a 12-year-old girl, following a boat accident in commercial hub Yangon, the local fire service said.

The boat sank on Wednesday in the Yangon river after a collision with another vessel, according to local media reports.

Rescuers had recovered five bodies from the river, the fire service said in a statement on its Facebook page late Friday.

The bodies of three men, a 16-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl had been sent to Yangon General Hospital, it said.

Boat accidents are common in Myanmar, a poor country with rudimentary transport and weakly enforced safety regulations.

In 2016, 73 people, including many teachers and students, drowned when their overloaded vessel capsised in central Myanmar on the Chindwin River.

Torrential downpours during the June-October rainy season swell rivers in the Southeast Asian country, making travel and navigation more difficult.