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Layout: tuesdaynight
Inspiration: DayBefore!Misery
Written on: Monday, November 26, 2007
Time: 6:58 PM

S'poreans found dead after Cambodia boat accident: police

TEN minutes before 8am on Sunday, the river gave up its first victim.

Fishermen trawling the waters of Cambodia's Tonle Sap found the body of Mr Chee Wei Cheng, 20, washed up on an island a few kilometres south of where his dragon boat had capsized on Friday.

In the end, after divers had searched for nearly 40 hours, the river discharged all five missing young men in less than four.

By noon, all had been recovered: first Mr Chee, then Mr Jeremy Goh Tze Xiong, 24; Mr Stephen Loh Soon Ann, 31; Mr Poh Boon San, 27; and last of all, Mr Reuben Kee En Rui, 23.

The national dragon boaters were still in their team shirts and shorts, now the colour of the muddy river.

Their bodies were spotted floating downstream from the accident site, said police officer Mom Sitha, a member of the search team.

Local fishermen had been enlisted to help as they knew the rips and currents of the area intimately, Phnom Penh Municipal Police Chief Touch Naroth told The Straits Times.

The search site included the confluence of three rivers, the Tonle Bassac, the Mekong and the Tonle Sap, which is prone to strong rips and whirlpools and very hard to navigate by boat - let alone swim.

Mr Touch Naroth said: 'The bodies were found over an area from Hun Sen Park to Koh Pich island. They were in good condition. They were not marked in any way, so it appears the rowers were caught in the current and simply drowned.'

A sixth body was also found, that of a Cambodian rower whose boat had also capsized on Friday, said Mr Nhim Vanda, vice-president of the National Committee for Disaster Management.

For the families of the Singapore rowers, dread became grief, as they grappled with their loss and asked how the tragedy happened.


Mr Stephen Loh Soon Ann, 31, ex-Marist PE Teacher