Two girls drowned on March 27 while bathing at Bos Leav commune’s Prek Kov village in Kratie province’s Chitr Borei district.
District deputy police chief Un Navuth identified the victims as 16-year-old Tiyo Sokny and 8-year-old Rinna Suon. The two children were not acquaintances and lived in different villages, and no adults were present when the incident happened.
“On March 27, five children went to bathe at a location called Prek Te. The 8-year-old girl got into difficulties and drowned. The 16-year-old girl attempted to help her but also drowned,” he said.
Bos Leav commune chief Nay Phy said the incident happened at 3pm on March 27 and that the Prek Te area is a remote creek, not well known to tourists. The creek has several parts where the water is deep, he added.
Citing Sokny’s relatives, he said the 16-year-old lived in a different village but had come to visit her fiance in the village. In the afternoon, she went to swim at the creek and was joined by four other children.
He said Suon appeared to slip under the water suddenly. Upon seeing this, Sokny tried to rescue her. “Sokny could not swim, and the water was deep. Nobody saw her go under. A small boy raised the alarm several hours later.
“The villagers searched for the body of the 8-year-old. Tragically, at around 8pm last night [March 27], the body of the 16-year old was also discovered,” he said.
