Bodies of Singaporean rowers recovered at Cambodian festival (Roundup)

Nov 25, 2007, 11:49 GMT

Phnom Penh - Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni officially closed the nation's three-day Water Festival Sunday but the ceremony was tainted by tragedy after police divers earlier in the day recovered the bodies of five missing Singaporean rowers.

The five young men had been missing since their dragon boat capsized Friday during the annual races in the capital, Phnom Penh municipal police chief Touch Naroth said.

'The search began again early this morning and we found all five bodies at the confluence of the three rivers less than 2 kilometres from where they fell into the water,' Naroth said.

He said the bodies had been recovered after Cambodian police enlisted the help of local fishermen familiar with the area's notoriously dangerous currents, in a search hampered by poor visibility in the muddy waters.

'Their bodies were in good condition and had no obvious injuries. It seems they were simply caught up in the currents and drowned,' Touch Naroth said.

The Singaporean university graduates tumbled from their boat as they were trying to dock after a race in what witnesses described as a freak accident. They were not wearing life jackets.

Another 17 members of the Singaporean crew were immediately rescued and treated for minor injuries following the accident, which occurred late Friday afternoon.

A massive rescue effort failed to locate five other rowers after the narrow wooden longboat capsized as the light failed, and police feared the worst as early as Saturday morning after so many hours in the strong currents of the Tonle Sap river.

The Tonle Sap meets the Tonle Bassac and Mekong rivers just after the finish line of the three-day annual races, where it forms whirlpools and powerful currents.

Some 432 boats competed in the Water Festival this year, which celebrates the end of the monsoon season.

'We would like to express our sincere condolences and our deep regret at the loss of the five Singaporean lives,' organizer Bou Chum Srey said.

Organizers said they could not remember the last time fatalities had been recorded at the races.