Adrift fisherman rescued at sea

A Cambodian fisherman has been miraculously rescued after being found clinging to a basket in the middle of the South China Sea.



Voeun Vonn, right, from Siem Reap province, was spotted 175 kilometres off Borneo by officers on a Brunei Navy ship, which happened to be passing on its way to regional exercises in Singapore.



Admiral Tea Sokha, deputy commander of the Royal Cambodian Navy, said the man had been on a fishing boat called Talay Thong I and jumped into the water because he feared for his life after an argument with crew mates.



“Bruneian Navy forces found and rescued him from the water, where he was using a plastic basket to help him stay afloat,” Admiral Sokha said.



“He had jumped into the sea to avoid being killed by other trawler members after a heated argument on the boat.”



Admiral Sokha said the Bruneian Navy vessel would arrive on Saturday in Singapore, where the Cambodian Embassy was waiting to take him home.



Cambodian authorities have long been concerned about the welfare of Khmer fishermen on Thai ships.



Dire health conditions were thought to be responsible for the deaths of five Cambodians and one Thai on a trawler in the Indian Ocean in January last year.



Last September, the Cambodian embassy in Thailand urged authorities there to release 18 Cambodian fishermen, believed to be victims of human trafficking, who had been detained for working on Thai fishing vessels.