A father and a son were found floating in the Mekong River in Kampong Cham yesterday morning, about 30 metres from where they drowned on Sunday afternoon, a local official said yesterday.

Doem Saret, chief of staff at Kang Meas district police, identified the victims as Touch Sunneng, 42, and his son, San Sovannarong, 8, who had gone swimming and drifted into a deep area, disappearing suddenly at about 4:45pm on Sunday. The victims are from the Chong Koh Kandal island area in Peam Chikang commune.

“The family, villagers and local authorities tried to search for both of the victims until 7:45am yesterday,” he said. The bodies were returned to the family for the traditional funeral service, Saret said.

The risk of drowning for children under the age of 15 in Cambodia is twice as high as it is in other low-to-middle-income countries in the region, a 2014 WHO study found.

A 13-year-old boy drowned last month while swimming in a 5-metre-deep pond in Phnom Penh’s Por Sen Chey district.