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Two Korean students die of unknown cause while volunteering in Cambodia
By Yonhap
Published : Jan 10, 2019 - 13:49
Two South Korean college students have died of an unknown cause in Cambodia while doing volunteer work, officials said Thursday.

The Konyang University students had been treated at a hospital in the capital city of Phnom Penh since Tuesday, after they had acute stomach pains, according to the university officials.

They returned to the lodge the next day, only to start showing the same symptoms and be again transferred to the hospital. One of the two died Wednesday night and the other early Thursday.

The cause of their deaths was not immediately known.

The university said 17 others in the volunteer group, including professors, remain sound and healthy.

It plans to send officials to deal with the aftermath and to figure out what exactly happened. The parents and families of the victims have been notified of the incident, and they are arranging flights for them, the university said.

The 19-member volunteer group left for Cambodia on Sunday to participate in an aid program to help residents there build necessary facilities and equipment. They were originally set to come back next Wednesday, but they now are planning on an early return, officials said.
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20190110000536

2 hours ago - BREAKING NEWS
Two South Korean students die of suspected food poisoning

Medical doctors are seeking the cause of the death of two South Korean female students who died on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning over suspected food and water poisoning in Phnom Penh.

The victims in their 20 and 21 were among the 16 volunteer students and three professors from Konyang University who built facilities or products for rural people from Monday to January 19, according to an official at the South Korean embassy.

The official said that the victims and two more other friends were eating pizzas and drink beers at a foreign-owned restaurant in front of the hotel after having their dinner on Monday night.

“Except for the two, the students are known to have no health problems. The students explained that they had immunized against malaria, typhoid and tetanus before going to Cambodia,” the official said.

“They had stomachache, vomiting, dehydration, pneumonia and low blood pressure,” he said, adding that Konyang university does not rule out the possibility that dead students have been mistaken for water or infected at a local hospital.

Doctors are examining to seek the cause of their deaths as medical experts from South Korea are on their way to Phnom Penh to inspect the bodies.

“Konyang university president Lee Won nook, infectious medicine specialist from Konyang university and parents of the students who died will arrive soon,” he said.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50567765/t ... poisoning/

“They had stomachache, vomiting, dehydration, pneumonia and low blood pressure,” he said, adding that Konyang university does not rule out the possibility that dead students have been mistaken for water or infected at a local hospital.

That's certainly a possibility. Anyway, I'm assuming these students would be quite clean living so it's a strange case.

The symptoms reported could be Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever, I know of another young volunteer who succumbed to this not long ago.

https://www.healthline.com/health/dengu ... #diagnosis

John Bingham wrote: ↑Thu Jan 10, 2019 8:39 pm

“They had stomachache, vomiting, dehydration, pneumonia and low blood pressure,” he said, adding that Konyang university does not rule out the possibility that dead students have been mistaken for water or infected at a local hospital.

That's certainly a possibility. Anyway, I'm assuming these students would be quite clean living so it's a strange case.

The symptoms reported could be Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever, I know of another young volunteer who succumbed to this not long ago.

https://www.healthline.com/health/dengu ... #diagnosis

Could be but the two of them, both young men, dying of that within a couple of days of each other seems unlikely. But I am no Doctor.

Doesn't this sound earily familiar to the backpackers in Kampot that died last year under exactly the same circumstances? What did they eat?

canucklhead wrote: ↑Fri Jan 11, 2019 9:39 am Doesn't this sound earily familiar to the backpackers in Kampot that died last year under exactly the same circumstances? What did they eat?

Heroin.

KBS News
Published on Jan 10, 2019

Two South Korean college students died in Cambodia where they were doing volunteer work, after showing symptoms of stomachache. The two students who had apparently shared the same hotel room are known to have eaten at a restaurant separately from the rest of their group. Here's more.

On January 7th a group of 19 students and professors from Konyang University's medical engineering college arrived in Cambodia. They were there to carry out medical volunteer work with the Royal University of Phnom Penh. A joint project which continued for the third year. Just one day after arrival, two female students abruptly showed symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea. They were sharing the same hotel room.

[Soundbite] Baek Man-seok(Public relations, Konyang University) : "They were in pain and went to the hospital for treatment but one died that day and other student the following day."
The two reportedly had a meal with fellow students at the hotel then went outside for beer and pizza. It's not known whether this is the direct cause of the vomiting and diarrhea.

[Soundbite] Na Hong-gyu(S. Korean embassy in Cambodia) : "We believe at the moment they died from excessive dehydration due to diarrhea as well as vomiting, pneumonia and low blood pressure-triggered cardiac arrest."

The rest of the students excluding the two that passed away, remain healthy. Their school, Konyang University, has canceled all schedules in Cambodia and will return the remaining students back to Korea where they will receive health checks and psychiatric treatment. The Korean embassy in Cambodia will consult the victims' families to decide whether to conduct an autopsy to identify the cause of death.

Na Hong-gyu(S. Korean embassy in Cambodia) : "We believe at the moment they died from excessive dehydration due to diarrhea as well as vomiting, pneumonia and low blood pressure-triggered cardiac arrest."

Again, I am no Doctor, but I find it hard to believe that two young, healthy students die within a day or two because of dehydration. I was pretty sick last week and lost 5 kilos in two days but once I got fluids in, I was OK within a day,

The Korean embassy in Cambodia will consult the victims' families to decide whether to conduct an autopsy to identify the cause of death.

I don't think that you have a choice of whether or not to do an autopsy. You MUST perform a proper autopsy and find out what happened here!

hanno wrote: ↑Sat Jan 12, 2019 8:43 am

Na Hong-gyu(S. Korean embassy in Cambodia) : "We believe at the moment they died from excessive dehydration due to diarrhea as well as vomiting, pneumonia and low blood pressure-triggered cardiac arrest."

Again, I am no Doctor, but I find it hard to believe that two young, healthy students die within a day or two because of dehydration. I was pretty sick last week and lost 5 kilos in two days but once I got fluids in, I was OK within a day,

Yes, if the reports are true, this is very strange. They got reportedly ill on the 8th, they went to the hospital on the 8th according to the reports, and everyone knows the first ting they do in the hospital is put you on a drip.

Lethal dehydration in a matter of hours just seems so fast.

Having said that, I once nearly passed out after I did a six km run in the woods mid day and I didn't drink enough water at that time / afterwards, nor took the time for my body to cool down afterwards. I experienced heat combined with dehydration can be pretty serious.