A British journalist is feared drowned in south-east Asia after the traditional river cruise boat she was sailing in struck rapids, broke in two and sank within seconds.

Search teams who had been scouring the Mekong River in Laos for Johanna Powell, a 37-year-old BBC picture editor from Cardiff, since she went missing at the weekend found a body on Monday some 25 miles downstream from where the accident happened.

The woman’s family in south Wales was told about the discovery but were waiting for formal identification before giving up hope that she could still be alive.

Powell was with three friends on a three-week holiday in Thailand and Laos. The four were taking part in a two-day boat trip along the Mekong, swollen by days of rain, when the vessel was damaged in rapids.

The rest of the passengers and crew members managed to swim to shore or cling to rocks before picked up by another boat but there was no sign of Powell. There were unconfirmed claims that the captain of the boat had been questioned by local police.

IraHayes wrote:her body has been found.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has confirmed a body has been found but not yet identified.

"And we've heard today that they have found a body. They've not identified yet and we're just hoping it's not her."