A village chief from Kampong Cham province drowned on Tuesday and a second man remains missing after strong winds capsized and sank a motor boat travelling along a tributary of the Mekong River.

Mach Chenda, deputy police chief of Koh Sotin district, identified the body recovered yesterday afternoon as Nay Korn, 68, a village chief.

Chhorn Net, 52, is still missing but believed to also have drowned, while six survived the accident after a group of fishermen saved them, according to Chenda.

“The victims sank with the boat after the strong winds hit. The victims’ families tried to find the body for hours, but still have found nothing,” he said.

All eight occupants of the boat were travelling home after attending a funeral across the river at 3pm and were about 500 metres from the shore before the boat began sinking.

The six survivors were saved by a fisherman, Chenda said, adding that seasonal rains recently increased the tributary’s volume.