One dead, 21 missing as boat capsizes off Cambodia

One dead, 21 missing as boat capsizes off Cambodia

The once-quiet fishing village of Sihanoukville has been transformed by a Chinese investment boom in recent years
The once-quiet fishing village of Sihanoukville has been transformed by a Chinese investment boom in recent years. Photo: TANG CHHIN Sothy / AFP
Source: AFP

PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ find “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy!

One person died and more than 20 are missing at sea after a boat carrying Chinese nationals sank off the coast of Cambodia, an official said Friday.

The boat with 41 Chinese people on board got into difficulties off Sihanoukville on Thursday, provincial spokesperson Kheang Phearom told AFP.

The once-quiet fishing village of Sihanoukville has been transformed by a Chinese investment boom in recent years, with dozens of casinos opening.

There have been growing reports of Chinese workers being trafficked or smuggled into the city to work.

Kheang Phearom said 19 people have been rescued and the body of a woman recovered from the water.

Officials are searching for the others, he said.

PAY ATTENTION: Enjoy reading our stories? Join YEN.com.gh's Telegram channel for more!

Read also

Alarm grows over deadly Iran crackdown on protests

Provincial police chief Chuon Narin told pro-government media outlet Fresh News that a representative of the group told police they left China from a port in Guangdong province by speedboat on September 11.

Nearly a week later, they were transferred to a wooden boat with two Cambodian crew members in international waters, the police chief said. That vessel began to sink after breaking down on Thursday.

He said a fishing boat picked up the two Cambodians and left, abandoning them and their boat in the sea.

According to Kheang Phearom, the Cambodians had also been detained for questioning.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Beijing was in "close contact" with Cambodian officials.

China "requests that the Cambodian side make full efforts to carry out search and rescue operations, and quickly confirm and find out relevant circumstances," Wang said.

Illegal labour

Cambodian authorities have been trying to crack down on people-smuggling and trafficking networks following widespread reports of people from other Southeast Asian countries being tricked into migrating for job opportunities billed as lucrative.

Read also

Three dead in Iran protests over Amini's death: governor

"The sinking and loss of life is a real tragedy, but the fact there is smuggling and trafficking where it happened is no surprise," said Jeremy Douglas of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

"We've seen intelligence and cases related to drug and timber shipments in the area in recent years, and the coast is pretty much wide open."

There have been multiple recent reports of Chinese workers being duped into working in casinos or online scam operations in Sihanoukville and prevented from leaving.

Police and immigration officials raided a compound in the city earlier this month and detained more than 140 foreigners working illegally, 130 of them Chinese.

Officials said they had found evidence of illegal confinement and torture, illegal gambling, prostitution and human trafficking.

Along with thousands of mobile phones and hundreds of computers, officers also seized handcuffs, electric batons and electric shock equipment.

Last month, around 40 Vietnamese workers at a Cambodian casino broke out and swam across a river back to their homeland, while in July dozens of Indonesians were rescued from a scam operation in Sihanoukville, according to media reports.

New feature: Сheck out news that is picked for YOU ➡️ find “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy!

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.