AP
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Police pulled the bodies of two young Singaporean men out of a Cambodian river Sunday after they and three others went missing when their boat capsized after a holiday race, officials said.
The bodies were spotted floating downstream from the accident site in the Tonle Sap river in the capital, Phnom Penh, said police officer Mom Sitha, a member of the 150-strong party searching for the victims.
He said one body was found about one kilometer (0.6 miles) and the other about four kilometers (2.5 miles) south of where the five Singaporeans disappeared after their dragon boat capsized Friday.
There had been 22 Singaporeans on the boat, which had just competed in a traditional Cambodian boat race festival. As they were returning to shore, the Singaporeans decided to continue rowing for leisure, but their boat hit a swirl and capsized.
Police boats were able to rescue only 17 of them, according to Cambodian and Singaporean officials.
Relatives of the missing visited the search site Saturday evening, sobbing and hugging each other. One woman fainted.
Singapore's military sent a team of eight - a mission commander, six divers and a medic trained in underwater rescue - to assist the Cambodian authorities in their search and rescue efforts.
The commander, Maj. Rayson Lim, said they were using sonar equipment to probe underwater.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen sent a message to his Singaporean counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, "conveying his shock and sadness" over the accident, Singapore's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Saturday.
The Singaporeans were among eight teams from neighboring Southeast Asian countries that participated in the annual event. The accident occurred on the first of three days of racing.
Some 440 colorful dragon boats, mainly from across Cambodia, were racing to celebrate Cambodia's annual water festival, which marks the start of the rice harvesting season and the time of the year when the Tonle Sap river reverses its flow from north to south.
The bodies were spotted floating downstream from the accident site in the Tonle Sap river in the capital, Phnom Penh, said police officer Mom Sitha, a member of the 150-strong party searching for the victims.
He said one body was found about one kilometer (0.6 miles) and the other about four kilometers (2.5 miles) south of where the five Singaporeans disappeared after their dragon boat capsized Friday.
There had been 22 Singaporeans on the boat, which had just competed in a traditional Cambodian boat race festival. As they were returning to shore, the Singaporeans decided to continue rowing for leisure, but their boat hit a swirl and capsized.
Police boats were able to rescue only 17 of them, according to Cambodian and Singaporean officials.
Relatives of the missing visited the search site Saturday evening, sobbing and hugging each other. One woman fainted.
Singapore's military sent a team of eight - a mission commander, six divers and a medic trained in underwater rescue - to assist the Cambodian authorities in their search and rescue efforts.
The commander, Maj. Rayson Lim, said they were using sonar equipment to probe underwater.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen sent a message to his Singaporean counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, "conveying his shock and sadness" over the accident, Singapore's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Saturday.
The Singaporeans were among eight teams from neighboring Southeast Asian countries that participated in the annual event. The accident occurred on the first of three days of racing.
Some 440 colorful dragon boats, mainly from across Cambodia, were racing to celebrate Cambodia's annual water festival, which marks the start of the rice harvesting season and the time of the year when the Tonle Sap river reverses its flow from north to south.
1 comment:
Foreigners: Please DO stay away from Cambodia whether business or pleasure, because your personal safety is not assured.
Had these five ill-fated Singaporian rowers assured, their lives have not been lost worthlessly in a foreign country.
The Cambodian government launched rescue operation JUST to save face.
Yes, reality hurts.
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