One person was killed and at least two were missing after a ferry capsized in a storm that wrought havoc across southern Cambodia on Wednesday.
The ferry was believed to have been carrying nine people across the Mekong River in Kandal province’s Lvea Em district when it capsized in strong wind at about 1:30 p.m., according to district governor Bun Theng.
“The blustery wind and the rain caused the ferry to capsize,” he said. “When [the pilot] turned the boat, the wind hit the side of the boat.”
Police recovered the body of a 61-year-old man and rescued six other people, while two remain unaccounted for, Mr. Theng said, adding that it was too early to know whether legal action would be taken against the ferry’s owner or pilot.
“Authorities are not pursuing legal action yet; they are thinking about rescue efforts,” he said.
Separately, an early afternoon downpour in Phnom Penh flooded parts of the city and caused a section of Street 161 to collapse along the edge of a major construction site in Prampi Makara district, swallowing a parked Honda SUV and causing slight damage to two other vehicles.
Deputy district governor Heak Chanleang said rainfall had flooded the sewage system that runs beneath the road, producing a jagged sinkhole about 20 meters long.
“The water flowed and eroded the sewage system near the company’s construction site,” he said.
Mr. Chanleang said authorities had not yet decided who was at fault for the collapse. The Overseas Cambodia Investment Corporation, which owns the development next to Olympic Stadium, denied responsibility for the incident.
“It was caused by erosion from the…water, and there was no collapse inside the construction site,” said OCIC project manager Touch Samnang, noting that the metal supports that separate the site from the street remained undamaged.
