Eight workers at the Stung Tatay hydro project, in Koh Kong province, are presumed dead after being swept away by floodwaters on Sunday.

Seven of the men had drowned while trying to rescue a colleague who had fainted after floodwaters swept over a bridge, stranding him at his work site, Thma Baing district police chief Sem Vari told the Post yesterday.

None of the bodies had been found, but all eight men, who range in age from 19 to 29, were presumed dead, Sem Vari said.

Horm Soth, 40, said his three brothers had been among the seven who swam to rescue their co-worker.

“I have been searching for them for days, but I cannot find them,” he said.

Sem Vari said water levels remained high and it was likely the bodies had been swept far downstream. He said he had asked officers in downstream communes to search for them.

“If the bridge was not cut off by the flood, they would not have died,” he added.

Neang Boratino, provincial co-ordinator for rights group Adhoc, said he had received a complaint from relatives and would help them file it to Koh Kong provincial police.

The US$540 million dam is being built by the China Nat-ional Heavy Machinery Co, which could not be reached for comment yesterday.