Sunday, October 11, 2009

Overloaded ferry kills 17 Cambodians in Mekong

Sun Oct 11, 2009

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - At least 17 people were missing and presumed drowned in Cambodia after an overloaded ferry sank in the Mekong river, officials said on Sunday.

The 14 women and three men were traveling to a local Buddhist temple to watch a performance in northeastern Kratie province, about 200 km (124 miles) from the capital Phnom Penh, when their ferry sank in a tributary late on Saturday in strong currents.

"They couldn't wait to see the performance so they all got on the same ferry," Som Sarith, chief of Chhlong district in Kratie province, told Reuters by telephone.

Authorities also removed at least nine motorbikes from the ferry, which went down in an area hit hard by recent flooding.

(Reporting by Ek Madra; Editing by Jason Szep)

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