Singapore's Dragon Boat is seen with a broken tail on the Tonle Sap river in Phnom Penh November 24, 2007. Five Singaporeans who took part in a dragon boat race in Cambodia are presumed drowned when their boat capsized, police said on Saturday. REUTERS/Chor SokuntheaSaturday, November 24, 2007
The Associated Press
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Divers, fishermen and police boats resumed searching Saturday for five Singaporeans whose boat capsized in a swirling current during a race on a river near Cambodia's capital.
The rowers disappeared after the competing in the race on the Tonle Sap river just outside Phnom Penh on Friday evening. Rescuers were not confident they would find the five recent university graduates alive.
They "may be gone already," said Nhim Vanda, vice chairman of the National Committee for Disaster Management, who was leading the 150-man search party.
"We will keep on looking for them until we find them," he said.
There were 22 people on the boat when it capsized in the swirling current, and police boats rescued 17 of them immediately, Nhim Vanda said. A police officer said late Friday there had been 23 people on board.
Singapore Embassy officials could not be reached for comment.
Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said the Singaporeans had just completed the dragon boat race and were being towed to a pier when the accident happened.
"At the pier, they asked the tow boat to untie the rope to let them go on rowing for leisure. They hit a swirling spot, and the boat capsized," said Chea Sokhom, one of the organizers of the festival.
The Singaporeans was among eight teams from Southeast Asia that took part in the event, he said.
Some 440 colorful dragon boats, mainly from across Cambodia, were taking part in the event to celebrate Cambodia's annual water festival, marking the start of the rice harvesting season and the time of the year when the Tonle Sap reverses its flow from north to south.
The rowers disappeared after the competing in the race on the Tonle Sap river just outside Phnom Penh on Friday evening. Rescuers were not confident they would find the five recent university graduates alive.
They "may be gone already," said Nhim Vanda, vice chairman of the National Committee for Disaster Management, who was leading the 150-man search party.
"We will keep on looking for them until we find them," he said.
There were 22 people on the boat when it capsized in the swirling current, and police boats rescued 17 of them immediately, Nhim Vanda said. A police officer said late Friday there had been 23 people on board.
Singapore Embassy officials could not be reached for comment.
Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said the Singaporeans had just completed the dragon boat race and were being towed to a pier when the accident happened.
"At the pier, they asked the tow boat to untie the rope to let them go on rowing for leisure. They hit a swirling spot, and the boat capsized," said Chea Sokhom, one of the organizers of the festival.
The Singaporeans was among eight teams from Southeast Asia that took part in the event, he said.
Some 440 colorful dragon boats, mainly from across Cambodia, were taking part in the event to celebrate Cambodia's annual water festival, marking the start of the rice harvesting season and the time of the year when the Tonle Sap reverses its flow from north to south.
4 comments:
What we should do here is to use the chopper to patrol down stream periodically to search for bodies. We should look for their bright uniform on both side of the shore and also on the river every square meter. From the air we might be able to detect their uniform even at 1-1.5 meters dept.
In case of emergency, time is critical. The sooner the rescue teams get there the better the chance they will find them alive. This is the time for celebrating, the words are getting out internationally and certainly we don't want to put any stain on it. The boat festival commitees must toughen its rules to ensure the event is fun and enjoyable.
Yeah, but usually the best tool for this is the helicopter. Where the hell is it?
Obviously, we are short supply of rescue helicopter and radio communication. We must try to get some. But nonetheless, even passenger helicopter can help looking for bodies from above and radio down the info to the rescue team below.
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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