Eleven pupils died in southern Cambodia after the ferry in which they were crossing a river capsized, officials have said.
Four people – two students and two crew members – were rescued following the accident on Thursday at about 7pm local time (12:00 GMT) on the Mekong river southeast of the capital, Phnom Penh, police said.
The body of a 14-year-old boy, who had been missing since the boat sank, was found on Saturday morning, Major General Chhoeun Sochet, chief of the Kandal provincial police, said on his Facebook page.
The students, who were aged between 12 and 14 years old, lived on an island in the river and used the ferry almost every day in the rainy season. They were returning from an English class when the boat went down.
“Such an incident should not have happened,” district police official Dim Samrith told local media outlet VOD on Friday, adding that the river was calm at the time of the accident.
The boat was crowded with 15 passengers and crew, and did not have life vests, he said.
Eight children have been found dead and three others are still missing after a tragic boat sinking in Kandal province.#VODEnglishhttps://t.co/h8447cuNzr
— VOD English (@VOD_English) October 14, 2022
During the dry season, the river has little or no water and can be traversed by foot, police said.
Authorities said the accident occurred as the boat was about 50 metres (160 feet) from shore and began to take on water in the bow.
Instructed to move to seats in the middle or stern of the boat, the ferry became unbalanced and capsized as the pupils tried to adjust their positions.
The river was about 500-600 metres (1,640 to 1,970 feet) wide at the site of the tragedy and informal boat operators make a living ferrying people between the riverbanks, VOD reported.
Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihamoni and Prime Minister Hun Sen offered their condolences on their social media feeds on Friday.
.@UNICEFCambodia is saddened and shocked by the loss of children’s lives in the ferry disaster that took place last night in Kandal Province. pic.twitter.com/aHMqaNKK2A
— UNICEF Cambodia (@UNICEFCambodia) October 14, 2022
