An 18-year-old woman from Thingaga village, Minbya Township, jumped from the Rar Maung Bridge on Sunday afternoon and has not been found yet, according to locals.

“A girl selling vegetables crossed the bridge and shouted that someone had jumped into the river. There were no people on the bridge at that time as the weather was so hot,” said a woman from Annthar village, which is located near the bridge in Minbya Township.

It is not yet known why the young woman jumped off the bridge. She had visited her relatives’ home in Okkar Pyan ward on Sunday and then left, saying that she was returning to her village, said Daw Htay May, an aunt of the woman in question.

“When I heard a teenage girl had jumped off the bridge, I knew that it was my niece. She left a pair of slippers on the bridge before jumping into the water. She didn’t quarrel with her mother,” she added.

Residents of Minbya Township downstream from the Rar Maung Bridge continue to search for the woman on shore and by motorboats. She had not been found as of 4 p.m. on Monday.

The Rar Maung Bridge crossing is a major road link to and from Yangon, Mandalay, Minbya and Sittwe.