Forty passengers have survived the vessel collision in a Myanmar river that killed 20, police said on Saturday.

Twenty passengers including three children were killed when two vessels collided in Pathein on Friday night, Xinhua news agency reported.

Pathein Water Transport Police said 40 out of the 60 aboard the vessel Ngwe Kyal Pwint that collided with a stone-loaded ship near Taman Creek at 8 p.m. have been rescued.

The accident was initially reported to have been caused by a lighthouse glitch.