KOH CHAMROEUN, Cambodia –
Eleven students from southern Cambodia who were crossing a river died after the boat they were on capsized, officials said.
Four people – two students and two members of the boat’s crew – have been rescued after the accident on Thursday evening on the Mekong River southeast of Phnom Penh, police said.
The body of a missing 14-year-old boy was found on Saturday morning, Kandal Provincial Police Chief Major General Chhoeun Sochet said on his Facebook page.
The students, who were between 12 and 14 years old, were returning from an English lesson. They lived on an island in the river and used the ferry for transport almost every day during the rainy season, like others in their village. During the dry season the river sometimes has little or no water and can be traveled on foot.
The boat was overloaded and lacked life jackets, the police chief said.
The accident happened near the Neak Loeung Bridge over the Mekong River, which separates Kandal Province on the west bank from Prey Veng in the east. The bridge is part of Route 1, a main road linking the capital, Phnom Penh, to Ho Chi Minh City in neighboring Vietnam.
The Leuk Daek district police chief in Kandal, Am Thou, said the accident happened as the boat approached the shore. It took on water in the bow and the students were asked to sit in the middle or at the back of the boat.
However, as they were returning, the boat became unbalanced and overturned.
One of the survivors, 12-year-old Ry Chanbora, was shown in a video posted online by Swift News telling relatives that she normally cannot swim well despite living near the river. She said that when the boat was sinking, she jumped out, trying to swim face up, and drifted to the river bank.
Provincial officials visited the girl and King Norodom Sihamoni, on his royal Facebook page, offered his condolences and prayers to the families of the victims. Prime Minister Hun Sen also offered his condolences on the Telegram messaging platform.
“May I urge all people, especially people who live along the river, to exercise the utmost caution during this time of flooding,” he said, referring to the recent heavy rains that may have contributed to the accident.
Police chief Am Thou said the two boat operators were hospitalized after the crash and will face legal action. He did not specify what charges they would face.
The World Health Organization said last year that according to 2019 estimates, more than 144,000 drowning deaths occurred in the Asia-Pacific region, or 61% of the global total.
“Of the 70,000 deaths by drowning in the WHO South-East Asia Region in 2019, more than 33% involved children under the age of 15,” said the UN agency. “On average, men were three to four times more likely to drown than women.”
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Associated Press writer Sopheng Cheang in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, contributed to this report.