Death toll in Cambodia ferry disaster rises to 11

ANKARA (AA) – The recovery of a 14-year-old student's body on Saturday brought the death toll in boat accident in southeast Cambodia to 11, Senior Minister Kun Kim said.

The small boat, carrying students aged 12-14 who were returning from an English class, went down in the Mekong River late Thursday, killing 11 children. Four people — two students and two of the boat’s crew — survived.

Major Gen. Chhoeun Socheth, chief of the Kandal provincial police who led the search for the victims, said rising water levels due to heavy rains had caused the disaster.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen expressed condolences to the families of the victims, and appealed to his compatriots, especially those living along the river, to be "very careful as the flood water is rising."