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SINGAPORE: Five members of the Singapore national dragon boat team are missing, feared drowned, and 17 others were hospitalised after their boat capsized on Friday during Cambodia’s annual water festival river races, officials said.
The mishap occurred late in the afternoon on the first day of the races, which draw millions to the capital Phnom Penh, a police official told AFP.
The Singaporeans’ boat capsized as the crew of 22, aged between 20 and 30 years, were rowing back to the starting line, at the end of the 1.5-km Cambodia-Asean Traditional Boat Race in which 10 teams competed.
According to Mr Kwek Siew Jin, president of the Singapore Dragon Boat Association, at about 4.20pm, the boat was swept by a sudden wave and hit a pontoon, causing the boat to overturn.
Resue boats were immediately deployed, but five of the crew could not be found. An extensive search was mounted.
The crew was not wearing lifejackets for this race, according to the association.
In a statement last night, Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the ministry and the Singapore Embassy in Cambodia were working with the local authorities in the search and rescue operations.
The association told Today it had contacted the family members of the missing five Singaporeans, and it was working closely with the MFA to facilitate their passage to Cambodia.
The five missing crew members had been training with the national team for a year. The SIngaporean contingent of 29, which included officials, was due to be back in Singapore on Sunday.
Accidents are common during the boat races, which involve dragon boats crewed by as many as 70 rowers, on the sometimes-choppy waters in front of Phnom Penh’s royal palace. - TODAY/ac
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