Boat Carrying Aid for Flood Victims Sinks

A boat carrying more than 10 tons of milled rice and other food aid for about 450 families affected by flooding sank on the Tonle Sap river in Kongpong Chhnang province Thursday, Cambodian Red Cross (CRC) officials said yesterday. The CRC boat that sank, which was carrying food for families in Cholkiri district’s Cholsa commune, including instant noodles and cans of sardines, was lost in the river or was damaged, said Prak Sophorn, the provincial Red Cross director. Another 5 tons of rice were saved from the water. The boat was one of four hired by the CRC from local villagers to deliver rice and other food to nearly 1,400 families in Cholkiri district, Mr. Sophorn said, and was a mere 2 km from its destination when it was scuttled by an unattended leak. The boat owner, who could not be identified by provincial authorities, reportedly offered to sell the damaged rice as feed for livestock to repay the CRC, Mr. Sophorn said. He added that while the boat owner is technically responsible for the lost ask him to pay for the damaged food. About 230,000 hectares of rice paddy were destroyed during the floods that have inundated large parts of the country over the past few months, and 250 people – at least half of them children – have died. The CRC, working on behalf to the government, and NGOs like Oxfam and Caritas have delivered about 10,750 tons of rice to more than 430,000 families whose livelihoods were ravaged, said Keo Vy, cabinet chief for the National Committee for Disaster Management.