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Eleven students in southern Cambodia died after their boat capsized while crossing the river, officials said.
Four people – two students and two crew members – were rescued after an accident on the Mekong River southeast of Phnom Penh on Thursday night, police said.
The body of a missing 14-year-old boy was found Saturday morning, Kandal provincial police chief Major General Chhoeun Sochet said on his Facebook page.
The students were between the ages of 12 and 14 and had just returned from English classes. They live on an island in the river and are transported by ferry almost every day during the rainy season, as do the rest of the village. During the dry season, the river sometimes has little or no water and can be crossed on foot.
The police chief said the boat was overloaded and had no life jackets.
The accident happened near the Neak Loeung Bridge on the Mekong River, which separates the province of Kandal on the west bank from the province of Polo Veng on the east bank. The bridge is part of Highway 1, the main road connecting the capital Phnom Penh with neighboring Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City.
Am Thou, chief of police in Kandal’s Leuk Daek district, said the accident happened when the boat was approaching the shore. It entered the water at the bow and the students were instructed to move to the middle or stern seats.
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However, as they walked back, the boat became unbalanced and overturned.
One of the survivors, 12-year-old Ry Chanbora, told relatives in a video posted online by Swift News that although she lives by a river, she usually can’t swim. When the boat sank, she said, she jumped out and tried to swim with her face up before drifting to the edge of the river.
Provincial officials visited the girl, and King Norodom Sihamoni posted his condolences and prayers for the families of the victims on his royal Facebook page. Prime Minister Hun Sen also expressed his condolences on the Telegram messaging platform.
“Can I urge everyone, especially those who live along the river, to take the utmost care during this flood,” he said, referring to the recent heavy rain that may have caused the accident.
Police Chief Am Thou said two operators of the ship were hospitalized following the accident and will face legal action. He did not say what charges they would face.
The World Health Organization said last year that the Asia-Pacific region accounted for more than 144,000 drowning deaths, or 61 percent of the global total, based on a 2019 assessment.
“Of the 70,000 drowning deaths in the WHO South-East Asia Region in 2019, more than 33% were children under the age of 15,” the UN agency said. “On average, men are three to four times more likely to drown than women.”
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