Two-year-old drowns in Kandal boat accident
THE lifeless body of a t woyear-old boy was found after a three-hour search by v illagers and police. He had earlier fa l len overboard when a ferr y collided with a loca l fishing boat on Sunday in Khsach Kandal district’s Prek Thong v illage, in Kandal prov ince.
District deputy police chief Nov Sokhon told The Post on Monday that the boy has been identified as Mou Saharoun from Russey Chroy commune’s Russey Chroy village, in Mok Kampoul district.
The incident occurred when a ferry carrying sand captained by a Vietnamese national collided with a fishing boat owned by a CambodianMuslim family, causing all four people onboard the fishing boat to fall into the river. Saharoun drowned while the other three onboard escaped unharmed.
“The fishing boat turned over due to t he collision. All the people who were on the fishing boat fell into t he river. The fat her tried to secure his children and an older boy was rescued. But the youngest boy [Saharoun] went missing. After searching for t hree to four hours, t he body of the child was found,” Sok hon said.
He said the incident occurred after dark and that the fishing boat did not have a sufficiently bright light. He said the ferry captain was also moving too fast in an attempt to deliver his load on time.
“I asked t he ferr y captain and he said he did not see the fishing boat because it was too dark and the fishing boat was not equipped with a light t hat can be easily seen,” Sok hon said.
Evidence was sent to provincial police, while the boy’s body was given to his family to be buried.