The Preah Sihanouk provincial administration said a boat carrying 41 Chinese nationals sank off the coast of Koh Tang, with 18 rescued at the time and another passenger found after a day.
The statement, issued Friday, said the boat sank around 10:30 a.m. on Thursday. The police’s water border team had been deployed and 18 people were rescued at the time. They were being held on Koh Rong, the statement said.
Authorities had questioned a representative from the boat, Chengui Sheng, 27, from China’s Fujian province, to find out the total number of passengers, which included three women, none of whom were immediately rescued, it said.
The statement did not give any further details about the people on board or the boat.
But it offered a reward to fishing boats who find any of the 23 victims missing as of Thursday. The provincial administration would pay 2 million riel, or about $500, per victim found, it said.
The statement added that two Cambodians on another boat had been detained and were being questioned.
Preah Sihanouk spokesman Keang Phearum said Friday afternoon that fishers had found one dead body for a missing woman as well as one man who was found alive. The man was now with police, Phearum said, adding that search operations were continuing.
