Two brothers drowned while playing on a small boat in a pond in Villa Sanlong commune’s Dol village of Kandal province’s Khsach Kandal district on the afternoon of April 16.
District deputy police chief Un Yong told The Post that on the day of the incident, the two brothers, aged 12 and 19, and their parents left Phnom Penh on a motorbike to visit a relative in Prek Tamak commune.
Later that afternoon, the deceased and their cousins went to visit a mango plantation owned by local firm 7NG in Prey Chas village, where their uncle was employed as a guard.
Yong said that when they arrived, the family members all took a small wooden boat for a short paddle in a pond at the plantation.
“The boat was designed for just one or two people, but six or seven were riding on it. Consequently the boat capsized. Those who knew how to swim made it to shore. Those who did not, drowned,” he said.
Yong said the cousins who made it ashore raised the alarm. Using a net, authorities searched for hours, finally finding the bodies of the victims at 7:30pm.
The commune police force – along with a doctor, the village chief and family members – examined the deceased brothers and, finding lungs full of water and no signs of violence, determined the two had drowned.
The two victims were identified as Wai Sovann, 19, and Wai Solap, 12. The two lived with their parents in Phnom Penh’s Russey Keo commune and district.
