THE death toll from a capsized boat off Cambodia’s coast rose to three Chinese nationals, with a further nine rescued in Vietnamese waters and eight still missing, Cambodian authorities said.
The boat with 41 Chinese people on board got into difficulties off Sihanoukville on Thursday.
Kheang Phearom, the spokesman for Cambodia’s Preah Sihanouk provincial administration, said rescue teams recovered two more bodies yesterday, bringing the death toll to three. Eight people remain missing, he said.
Cambodian authorities had rescued 21 people on Friday.
Meanwhile, a Vietnamese border guard at the An Thoi station in Kien Giang province said that a fishing vessel had rescued nine Chinese nationals in Vietnamese waters near Phu Quoc island on Friday.
The formerly sleepy fishing village of Sihanoukville in Cambodia in recent years has been transformed into a casino hub following a Chinese investment boom.
There have been multiple reports of Chinese workers being duped into working in casinos or scam operations in Sihanoukville and prevented from leaving. — AFP
