Cambodia boat sinking: 3 Chinese nationals dead as survivors say they had no food, water on vessel

Nine more rescued in Vietnamese waters and eight still missing, Cambodian authorities say

‘We floated in the sea for two days’ after the boat capsized, say Chinese survivors, who add they had no idea they were heading for Cambodia

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Huoch Chamroeun (centre), governor of Preah Sihanouk province, and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian (left) visit Chinese survivors rescued from a sinking boat at a hospital in Preah Sihanouk Province on Saturday. Photo: Preah Sihanouk Provincial Administration via AP

Published: 11:15pm, 24 Sep 2022

The death toll from a capsized boat off the coast of Cambodia rose to three Chinese nationals on Saturday, with a further nine rescued in Vietnamese waters and eight still missing, Cambodian authorities said.

The vessel with 41 Chinese people on board got into difficulties near the Cambodian casino hub of Sihanoukville on Thursday. It was carrying migrants from China who had been promised work.

Kheang Phearom, a spokesman for Cambodia’s Preah Sihanouk provincial administration, said rescue teams recovered two more bodies on Saturday, bringing the death toll to three.

Chinese nationals stand on a pier after being rescued from a ship sinking, at an island in Preah Sihanouk Province, southwestern Cambodia on Thursday. Photo: Preah Sihanouk province authority police via AP

Eight people remain missing, he said. Cambodian authorities had rescued 21 people on Friday.

Meanwhile, a Vietnamese border guard on duty in Kien Giang province said that a fishing vessel had rescued nine Chinese nationals in Vietnamese waters near Phu Quoc island on Friday.

Chinese survivors recovering from the ordeal at a hospital in Sihanoukville on Saturday said they had no idea they were headed for Cambodia, adding that their mobile phones had been confiscated.

Survivor Zhu Pingfan, 41, from Hunan province in China, recuperates in a hospital in Preah Sihanouk province on Saturday. Photo: AP

Zhu Pingfan, 41, from Hunan province, said he had been lured into undertaking the voyage with the promise of a wage of up to US$2,800 for a 20-day fishing trip.