Cambodia ferry tragedy death toll climbs to 14

Search and rescue/recovery teams have located the bodies of six additional victims of a deadly river ferry sinking incident that occurred in the Mekong River in south-eastern Cambodia late last week.

The deceased individuals were all passengers on an unnamed vessel that sank in the stretch of the Mekong within Kandal province about 53 kilometres south-east of Phnom Penh on Thursday, October 13.

The recovery of the six additional victims raises the incident’s death toll to 14. One other victim is believed to still be missing, prompting the continuation of the search effort.

The fatalities were all schoolchildren aged 11 to 14. Two other children and the ferry’s two crewmembers are the only survivors of the incident, which occurred as the students were being transported home from school.

A local police official said the ferry was overloaded and the crew had not provided lifejackets to any of the passengers.