NEED TO KNOW
- A group of tourists was caught in a river surge while swimming at the Ohn Chaw Waterfall in Mandalay, Myanmar, on Monday, Sept. 29
- According to authorities, two people are dead and two others remain missing following the incident on Sept. 29
- “Of the two women currently missing, one is said to be American and the other is said to be Burmese,” an official said, per the Associated Press
At least two people were killed and two more remain missing after a group of tourists fell over the edge of a 400-foot-high waterfall in Asia.
On Monday, Sept. 29, a group of 14 tourists was swimming in a natural pool on the Ohn Chaw Waterfall in Mandalay, Myanmar, when a river surge suddenly dragged five of them over the edge, the Myanmar Fire Service Department said in a Facebook post.
Two Burmese women died after crashing into boulders on the third level of the tourist attraction, while a 43-year-old Russian national called Andrei allegedly survived by wedging himself between rocks, per the Associated Press [AP].
Two women — an American national and a Burmese national — have been reported missing following the river surge, according to the news agency.
Andrei was found groaning in pain by firefighters at around 3 p.m. local time, having broken his right leg in his fall. He was rushed to the Pyin Oo Lwin Hospital for treatment after being strapped to a rescue board, per AP.
The two deceased women were not discovered until 4:30 p.m.
“The two missing persons are also said to be women,” an official from the Tha-Yar-Maung social assistance association told the news service “They were playing in the water when a mountain stream surge came down and swept them away.
“In our area, when the mountain stream flows, it comes down in large volumes. They were in the water when the current wasn’t very heavy yet,” the official continued. “But later, it came down in full force while they were still in the water, and they were carried away. We heard they were swimming at the eighth tier. They were swept down by the force of the water to the third tier.
“As far as we know, the group includes foreigners,” the official added, per AP. There may be Russians. Of the two women currently missing, one is said to be American and the other is said to be Burmese.”
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The Ohn Chaw, also known locally as the Eight-Tier Waterfall, is located halfway between Mandalay and Pyin Oo Lwin.
It features eight levels that plunge into a canyon, and it can take hikers around two hours to reach the summit, per AP. Each of the tiers has natural pools where visitors can swim.
It is not the first time that there have been drowning incidents at the waterfall, an official told AP. However, tourists have never been swept away due to a river surge before. Rescue teams were forced to stop searching for the missing individuals at around 8 p.m. on Monday due to poor visibility. They are expected to resume their search efforts later today.
PEOPLE has reached out to the Myanmar Fire Service Department for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
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