Canadian’s death in Cambodia probed

• Officials are investigating after a 27-yearold Winnipeg woman and a friend from the U. K. were found dead at a Cambodia hostel after falling ill and visiting a pharmacy to get medication.

Abbey Gail Amisola, who loved to travel and was just beginning a teaching career, died alongside Natalie Jade Seymour, 22, from Bedfordshire, England.

Their bodies were found on Tuesday at the Monkey Republic Guest House in the southwestern city of Kampot.

It is believed they took the medicine after suffering symptoms of possible food poisoning.

Cambodia’s Department of Immigration said preliminary investigations had found that they had been suffering from diarrhea and vomiting, reported Britain’s Mail-Online.

The young women were reportedly found by shocked staff who rushed them to Kampot provincial hospital, but they could not be revived. A forensic examination is being prepared to determine the exact cause of death.

A spokesperson for the guest house said they were “very nice women” and very close friends who were travelling together.

“This is now in the hands of the police but there is nothing suspicious about their deaths,” said the manager.

Amisola’s family told CBC News they first learned of her death reading media reports.

Her sister, Anna Amisola, told CBC News her family is working with a Cambodian funeral home to bring the body back to Canada.

Amisola was on a yearlong backpacking trek through Asia, a long- time friend said Wednesday.

“We haven’t heard much about what has happened, just that her and her friend were ill, they went to the pharmacist to get some medication,” Samantha Gilkes said.

“I met Abbey when I was nine and ... she’s a really amazing person. She has a huge heart of gold and she would be the first person to help anybody in a situation like this,” she said.

Gilkes, along with her brother Tyler, has set up a fundraising web page to help Amisola’s family. The site had raised more than $11,000 by Wednesday afternoon.

Amisola had r ecently earned her education degree and set off in September for a trek through Asia, she said.

“She loved to travel. She was funny. She had a zest for life. She was just a really good person,” Gilkes said.

“Her goal was to experience the world and see what it had to offer.”

News of the tragedy was first reported on the Cambodian Expatriates website, which published a copy of the women’s passports in a post that was later taken down. It also displayed unverified photos of the scene, which appeared to show medication lying on the floor of the hostel room.