1 dead, more than 20 missing after boat sinks

A boat carrying Chinese nationals sank off southwestern Cambodia on Thursday evening, leaving at least one dead and more than 20 people missing, the Chinese embassy in Cambodia said on Friday.

In a statement, the embassy said that it received notification from the Cambodian Police Department on Thursday night that the police found a boat that was believed to have had 41 Chinese citizens on board. Eighteen people had been rescued, with the rest still missing. Two Cambodian crew members involved have been arrested.

According to the rescued personnel, the people on board departed from Guangzhou, in southern China, on Sept 11 and were in distress shortly after arriving in the waters of Preah Sihanouk Province.

The embassy said that after receiving the information, Ambassador Wang Wentian immediately deployed staff to contact the Cambodian Ministry of National Defense, the police department, the Sihanoukville provincial government and other departments to request help for the rescue effort.

By noon on Friday, the rescue personnel had recovered a body and picked up a person from the waters, leaving 21 still missing. Search and rescue efforts are continuing. In an effort to mobilize social forces to participate in the rescue, the Sihanoukville provincial government issued a reward notice to fishermen in nearby waters, announcing a $500 reward for each person rescued.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in a daily briefing on Friday that China is in communication with Cambodia, asking for prompt search and rescue efforts and verifying the related situation.

Also on Friday, Wang Wentian led his delegation to the site to coordinate the rescue work.