Cambodian officials are confirming at least nine students in the southern part of the country, who were crossing a river on their way home from school, have died after the boat they were on capsized.
Key points:
- The ferry was used during the rainy season for students to reach their classes from their island, but the vessel took on water in its bow
- After it overturned, the bodies of nine students aged between 12 and 14 years were retrieved
- A UN study has found that 61 per cent of the global total of drowning deaths occur in the Asia Pacific region
Four people — two students and two of the boat’s crew — were rescued after the accident on Thursday night on the Mekong River south-east of Phnom Penh and two students were still missing on Friday, police said.
On Friday, Major General Chhoeun Sochet — the chief of the Kandal provincial police — said on his Facebook page that the boat was overloaded and carried no life jackets.
The students — who were aged between 12 and 14 years — lived on an island in the river and used the ferry for transport almost every day in the rainy season, as did others from their village.
During the dry season, the river has little or no water and can be crossed on foot.
The students were on their way home on Thursday evening around 7pm when the boat capsized.
Officials said the accident occurred near the Neak Loeung bridge over the Mekong, which at that point separates Kandal province on the western shore from Prey Veng on the east.
That bridge is part of Route 1, a major road connecting the capital, Phnom Penh, to Ho Chi Minh City in neighbouring Vietnam.
The police chief in Kandal’s Leuk Daek district, Am Thou, said the accident occurred as the boat was approaching the shore.
It took on water in its bow, and the students were instructed to move to seats in the middle or stern of the boat.
However, as they walked back, the boat became unbalanced and overturned.
One of the survivors, 12-year-old Ry Chanbora, was shown in a video broadcast online by Swift News telling relatives that she normally doesn’t know how to swim well, despite living near the river.
She said that when the boat was going down she jumped out, trying to swim with her face up, and drifted to the river’s bank.
Provincial officials paid a visit to the girl, and King Norodom Sihamoni on his royal Facebook page offered condolences and prayers for the families of the victims.
Police chief Am Thou said the boat’s owners, who were its crew, were admitted to hospital after the accident but would face legal action. He did not say what charges they would face.
The World Health Organization said last year that, according to assessments in 2019, more than 144,000 drowning deaths occurred in the Asia-Pacific region, 61 per cent of the global total.
“Of the 70,000 drowning deaths in the WHO’s South-East Asia Region in 2019, more than 33 per cent were among children aged under 15 years,” the UN agency said.
“On average, men were three to four times more likely to drown than women.”
AP