The body of a British backpacker missing for more than a week in Cambodia was found at sea on Thursday about 100km from the island where she disappeared, officials said.
The body of 21-year-old Amelia Bambridge was discovered in the Gulf of Thailand northwest of Koh Rong, where she disappeared after attending a beach party on Wednesday last week, Preah Sihanouk Province Police Chief Major General Chuon Narin said.
It was found near another island, Koh Chhlam, close to Cambodia’s maritime border with Thailand.
Authorities had launched an intensive land, air and sea search that was joined by members of the woman’s family, who traveled to Cambodia after learning that she was missing.
Bambridge’s family had speculated that she might have become lost in the heavy jungle in the island’s interior, but Cambodian officials had leaned toward the theory that she drowned because her bag with money and a smartphone was found on a rock on the coast.
Her brother, Harry Bambridge, who took part in the search, on Thursday posted a message on Facebook saying that he had seen the body and could confirm it was Amelia.
“I’m so sorry to all her friends and family there’s nothing more I wanted than to bring her back alive,” he wrote. “And I’m sorry to you Amelia Bambridge the round is on me when we meet again in heaven.”
Cambodian Deputy Navy Commander Tea Sokha said the body had been spotted by a fisher, who notified authorities.
He said it was identified by the clothing and tattoos, which matched photographs of the woman taken on the night she disappeared.
The body was taken to Sihanoukville Referral Hospital in Cambodia’s main coastal city, Sihanoukville.
Sokha said forensic experts would confirm the identification and examine the body for the cause of death.
Amelia Bambridge’s mother, father and sister had also been in Koh Rong and Sihanoukville, but it was unclear if anyone other than her brother had viewed the body.
BOMBARDMENT: Moscow sent more than 440 drones and 32 missiles, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, in ‘one of the most terrifying strikes’ on the capital in recent months A nighttime Russian missile and drone bombardment of Ukraine killed at least 15 people and injured 116 while they slept in their homes, local officials said yesterday, with the main barrage centering on the capital, Kyiv. Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said 14 people were killed and 99 were injured as explosions echoed across the city for hours during the night. The bombardment demolished a nine-story residential building, destroying dozens of apartments. Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble. Russia flung more than 440 drones and 32 missiles at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
‘SHORTSIGHTED’: Using aid as leverage is punitive, would not be regarded well among Pacific Island nations and would further open the door for China, an academic said New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, it said yesterday, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group’s deepening ties with China. A spokesperson for New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said in a statement that New Zealand early this month decided to suspend payment of NZ$18.2 million (US$11 million) in core sector support funding for this year and next year as it “relies on a high trust bilateral relationship.” New Zealand and Australia have become increasingly cautious about China’s growing presence in the Pacific
Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki yesterday erupted again with giant ash and smoke plumes after forcing evacuations of villages and flight cancelations, including to and from the resort island of Bali. Several eruptions sent ash up to 5km into the sky on Tuesday evening to yesterday afternoon. An eruption on Tuesday afternoon sent thick, gray clouds 10km into the sky that expanded into a mushroom-shaped ash cloud visible as much as 150km kilometers away. The eruption alert was raised on Tuesday to the highest level and the danger zone where people are recommended to leave was expanded to 8km from the crater. Officers also
ESPIONAGE: The British government’s decision on the proposed embassy hinges on the security of underground data cables, a former diplomat has said A US intervention over China’s proposed new embassy in London has thrown a potential resolution “up in the air,” campaigners have said, amid concerns over the site’s proximity to a sensitive hub of critical communication cables. The furor over a new “super-embassy” on the edge of London’s financial district was reignited last week when the White House said it was “deeply concerned” over potential Chinese access to “the sensitive communications of one of our closest allies.” The Dutch parliament has also raised concerns about Beijing’s ideal location of Royal Mint Court, on the edge of the City of London, which has so
RSS