Chinese man dies in boat capsizal in Cambodia's Koh Kong

A Chinese worker for a sand- dredging company drowned Saturday after a boat carrying nine people capsized off the coast in far southwestern Koh Kong province due to a torrential rain, a local police chief confirmed Sunday.

"The victim was Guo Baoxing, 41, from Hebei province,"Bun Tha, police chief of Koh Kong provincial serious crime office, told Xinhua."Eight others on board, including five Chinese men and three Cambodian crews, escaped the death by swimming with floating objects such as containers."

He said the home-made machine boat sank Saturday afternoon more than 1 km off shore in Koh Kong district when it carried those Chinese nationals, along with goods, to a sand-dredging ferry on the sea and met a torrential rain.

According to Bun Tha, the dead victim could swim, but drowned due to his wearing of a pair of sports shoes and could not manage to take them off timely when the accident happened.