Rescue teams were searching for dozens of Burmese workers whose boat capsized on a river in Laos.

More than 40 passengers were riding the boat when its engine reportedly failed amid strong currents in the Ruak and Mekong rivers in Bokeao province on September 2.

The workers were said to have panicked and jumped into the Mekong River before the boat capsized. Nearby boats were able to rescue only 10 passengers.

Authorities said the group may have been illegal workers from the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone - a sprawling 3,000-hectare zone created by the Lao government and Chinese-owned company Kings Romans Group in Bokeo.

The area is known to attract mostly Chinese visitors to its hotels and casinos, and is notorious for criminal activities like human trafficking and drug smuggling.

Police Colonel Thanad Chummano, superintendent of Chiang Saen Police Station, said: ‘The boat had picked up around 40 Myanmar workers from the Chinese special economic zone. It sailed against the current of the Mekong River towards a pier in Myanmar's Tachileik District. However, the rapid current might have caused it to sink. The incident occurred around two miles from the Thai border.'

The police boss said officers were co-ordinating with border authorities in Thailand to monitor the riverside for any survivors.

No other Burmese workers have been found as of press time.