More than 20 people were reported missing after a ship sank off the coast of Cambodia, a Cambodian official said on Friday.
The ship was carrying 41 Chinese nationals and started having problems on Thursday, off the city of Sihanoukville in southwestern Preah Sihanouk province, a spokesman for Kheang Phearom province said, according to the France-Press news agency. .
Only 18 people were rescued, continuing the search operation “for the 23 missing people,” he added.
The once sleepy fishing village of Sihanoukville has undergone a massive transformation in recent years following heavy Chinese investment, including the opening of dozens of casinos.
However, there are increasing reports that Chinese workers are being brought to work illegally in the city.
Speaking to Cambodian media, the chief of the provincial police, Chion Narin, indicated that a representative of the people on board reported that they had left China from a port in Guangdong province (southeast) in a speedboat on September 11. .
Nearly a week later, two Cambodian crew members transferred them to a wooden boat, the police chief said, before the boat began to sink after a breakdown on Thursday.
The official added that a fishing boat caught two Cambodians and left, abandoning the passengers.
According to the same spokesman, these two Cambodian citizens were detained for questioning.
Source: TSF
