Pattaya One News
Home » British tourist’s body found off Cambodian coast
National

British tourist’s body found off Cambodian coast

British tourist’s body found off Cambodian coast

Cambodian authorities have confirmed a body found floating near the Thai border is the 21-year-old British woman who went missing last week from a beach party in a coastal area popular with backpackers.

Amelia Bambridge was discovered in waters near the Thai border, Preah Sihanouk province’s police chief Chuon Narin said.

British backpacker Amelia Bambridge, 21, went missing last week from a beach party in Cambodia.
AAP

He said her body would be taken to nearby Sihanoukville. 

Mr Narin did not speculate on what happened to her after she disappeared from a beach party on the island of Koh Rong on 24 October, but earlier this week said she may have drowned.

Brother Harry Bambridge confirmed in a Facebook post that he had identified the body.

“It’s my little sister Amelia,” he wrote, after arriving in the South East Asian country.

“There’s nothing more I wanted (than) to bring her back alive.

“I’m sorry to you Amelia Bambridge the round is on me when we meet again in heaven.”

The discovery brings a tragic end to a desperate search involving more than 100 members of the police, army, navy and Ms Bambridge’s relatives.

Koh Rong island officers searching for missing backpacker Amelia Bambridge.
Koh Rong island officers searching for missing backpacker Amelia Bambridge. – AAP

Ms Bambridge had befriended other travellers, and the alarm was raised after she did not check out of her hostel following a party that went into the early hours on the beach.

Police later found her bag and phone in the area where she was last seen at around 3.30 am.

Her family members scrambled to the island to help with the investigation and have also been active on social media asking travellers for possible clues.

Divers searched the waters and others combed the jungle, but for days nothing substantive was found.

Amelia Bambridge's family in Cambodia.
Amelia Bambridge’s family in Cambodia. – AAP

The mystery deepened after police detained six men for questioning but they were found not to be involved and released.

Located in the Gulf of Thailand, Koh Rong is popular with backpackers.

It is a two-hour boat ride from the coast and draws budget travellers with its cheap accommodation, laid-back beach bars and idyllic sunsets.

But it has also undergone development in recent years, in keeping with a construction and casino boom in nearby Sihanoukville.

Tourists in Cambodia.
Tourists in Cambodia. – AAP

Cambodia has long been a stop for tourists travelling around South-East Asia.

Though generally safe, crimes involving foreigners have grabbed headlines in the past.

This month a Cambodian court charged three men with gang-raping a French tourist in the coastal province of Kampot after offering her a ride in their car.

In 2013, Kampot town was rocked by the discovery of the mutilated body of a 25-year-old Frenchwoman floating in a river.

A Belgian was charged with the alleged rape and murder of the woman, but released on bail due to a lack of evidence.

Please follow and like us:
Global news and Local news in Thailand and Pattaya with Business advertising
Translate »