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Cambodian king sends condolences for Singaporean rowers (Extra)

Nov 25, 2007, 12:19 GMT

Phnom Penh - Cambodia's king Norodom Sihamoni has sent his personal condolences to Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong after five young Singaporeans drowned at the nation's annual Water Festival, Tourism Minister Thong Kong said Sunday. 'The king has sent his personal condolences, as has Prime Minister Hun Sen. I too express my deepest sadness to the families and the Singaporean people on behalf of my ministry,' Thong Kong said at the closing ceremony of the three-day river races. 'We all deeply regret such a tragedy could befall those people while they were visitors to Cambodia,' he said. 'It is unthinkable that this could happen at the Water Festival. Many people asked many times to invite foreign teams to compete at this wonderful event, but we must also be able to protect their safety.' The bodies of the five rowers who were swept away when their boat capsized Friday were recovered earlier Sunday. Organizers said they could not recall the last time there had been a fatality at the races, which celebrate the end of the monsoon season. © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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Cambodian king sends condolences for Singaporean rowers (Extra)

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