Eleven students drown after ferry capsizes in Cambodia
The overloaded ferry boat, which did not have life jackets or other safety equipment, capsized close to the shore.


Eleven pupils died in southern Cambodia after the ferry in which they were crossing a river capsized, officials have said.
The body of a 14-year-old boy, who had been missing since the boat sank, was found on Saturday morning, Major General Chhoeun Sochet, chief of the Kandal provincial police, said on his Facebook page.

The students, who were aged between 12 and 14 years old, lived on an island in the river and used the ferry almost every day in the rainy season. They were returning from an English class when the boat went down.

“Such an incident should not have happened,” district police official Dim Samrith told local media outlet VOD on Friday, adding that the river was calm at the time of the accident.
The boat was crowded with 15 passengers and crew, and did not have life vests, he said.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/ ... n-cambodia

UPDATE
Life Jackets Given to Primary School Children
Oct 28, 2022

Cambodia News,(Kampong Chhnang): On October 28, 2022, 90 students from 3 primary schools in Boribo district, Kampong Chhnang province, received a gift of a life jacket to wear in the boat going to the school from the Cambodian Red Cross.


Mr. Prak Sophoan, Branch Executive Director, accompanied by Mr. Cheng Chandona, Chairman of Boribo District CRC Sub-Committee, Mr. El Saroeun, Permanent Officer of Boribo District CRC Sub-Branch, visited and distributed life jackets to 90 first grade students from 3 schools, with 30 jackets for each school.

On that occasion, Boribo District Authority instructed all parents that students must always wear safety vests when traveling to and from school by boat to avoid any accidents.

US-Cambodians donate life jackets
Khouth Sophak Chakrya | Publication date 02 November 2022 | 20:39 ICT

Mak Heun, a Cambodian-American political and social analyst and a representative of Cambodians in the US, donated 1,500 life jackets to the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) on November 2.

These are intended for use in rescue operations in areas affected by flooding or in the case of boats sinking.

Senior Minister Kun Kim, NCDM first vice-president, thanked Heun and Cambodians in the US for the donation.

“This is a contribution to strengthening the effectiveness of rescue operations to save people affected by floods or should boats sink in Cambodian seas or rivers,” Kim said.
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ ... fe-jackets

IraHayes wrote: ↑Sun Oct 30, 2022 6:04 pm I noticed some nice shiny, new life jackets on the ferries that leave from koh pich when we popped across the river to moo moo farms this morning.

What were you doing at Moo Moo?
I can’t find their milk in any shops. Is it farm collection only?

I have crossed the Bassac on the ferry with a car and moto probably 50 times or more. In the wet is is particularly dangerous. Fast flowing with lots of debris in the river. The ferry is two canoes with a platform that can carry two cars and a few motos. I always knew how dangerous it was but the roads are equally dangerous. As is the lack of a health system. A few years ago a family in a baby Lexie drove onto one of these in the evening after dark and went straight off the other side. Mum and Dad and several kids drowned. But huge numbers of kids are drowned in Australia too and every flooding event sees a drowning from a car leaving the road and being washed into a creek or river.
I go out to the Barrier Reef quite often and all boats have life jackets and no one wears them. Most passengers are tourists who can’t swim and have never been on a boat before. Just last week a young English boxer drowned on the Reef and the next day a woman drowned in a pool at an apartment complex near me. My Khmer daughter at nearly eleven is a competent and very strong swimmer after two years of lessons. I thought she was very competent after a year of lessons but when she tried out for surf livesaving on a blustery day she couldn’t cope at all in the ocean. She thinks she nearly drowned. Her swimming coach says that three years of weekly lessons are required before a kid has near total ability.
The school are running five weeks of swimming every year now. My daughter is of course by far the best swimmer. The other hundred kids would nearly all drown if thrown in the deep end of a pool. Surviving in a fast flowing river after a boat sinking would test most adults, let alone small kids. Poor little buggers. All third world countries with rivers and ferries have similar casualties. Indonesia and The Phillipines and countries in Africa.

UPDATE
New ferry aiming to avoid repeat tragedy
Kim Sarom | Publication date 03 September 2023 | 21:16 ICT
In Koh Chamroeun village, part of Kandal province’s Loeuk Dek district, a new ferry is plying its trade, while serving as a reminder of the lives lost and taking an earnest step towards a safer future.

It has been nearly a year since the events of October 2022, when the sinking of a vessel claimed the lives of 11 students. The sorrow of their loss still reverberates through the community.

Amidst this backdrop, district authorities have introduced a new water taxi service for the village, complete with life jackets for each passenger.

Loeuk Dek district governor Chap Chanvithyea told The Post that the district administration initiated this project to help residents and students who depend on boat crossings, particularly during the rainy season.

“The boat will be used by both residents and students,” he explained.

Chanvithyea emphasised that life jackets are now mandatory for every passenger during the crossing. The boat will be overseen by two security guards, who are responsible for directing traffic and ensuring the safety of all aboard. Should an incident occur, the governor said effective protocols are in place to ensure swift rescue operations.

He added that although the boat has the capacity to carry 30 people, it has been limited to 20. This constraint arises from the necessity to accommodate motorcycles as well.

Situated about 500 metres from the previous docking area in Koh Chamroeun, the new boat is free for all passengers.
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national- ... at-tragedy

And there was cynical old me expecting a pointless bump from the latest thread necromancer.

Some good news here at least!