Yangon - A passenger ferry sank in Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta, killing 38 people, government media reported Friday. 

The state-run New Light of Myanmar said the ferry sank at dawn on Tuesday in the Yway river, in the heart of the area devastated in May by Cyclone Nargis, after water poured in through the stern. 

The newspaper reported 44 of the passengers aboard the ferry, named the Myo Pa Pa Tun, survived by swimming to shore or were rescued. 

It said the ferry went down shortly after leaving Pakeikkyi village in the delta. 

Ferries are a major form of transport in the delta, especially for taking farm goods to market. 

Six people died earlier this year when two ferries collided in the delta. 

At least 84,000 people are believed to have been killed when Nargis crashed through the delta in May. (dpa)