New York, May 10 (AP): A CNN reporter who left Myanmar yesterday was chased by authorities as he reported on the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis but escaped primarily because of the incompetence of the people after him.

Dan Rivers hid under a blanket at one police checkpoint and casually covered up his name on a passport to avoid detection another time. He may ultimately have got out of the country due to a stewardess’s impatience.

“I was amazed at the lengths they apparently went just to catch me,” Rivers told The Associated Press by telephone from Thailand today.

Rivers’s story illustrates the preoccupation of Myanmar’s military government with things other than helping the country recover from a storm that killed thousands and left many survivors homeless.