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Crime

Body of missing British tourist found off Cambodia coast

October 31, 2019

Police have said they are "almost 100 percent certain" the body belongs to the missing British backpacker. Amelia Bambridge was last seen on October 23 after attending a beach party on the touristic island of Koh Rong.

Cambodian patrol boat team
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Sinith

Cambodian police said on Thursday they found the body of the missing 21-year-old British woman more than 48 kilometers (30 miles) from where she was believed to have disappeared a week ago in the tourist Sihanoukville province.

Local police chief Chuon Narin said Cambodian police are "almost 100% certain" that they have discovered the body of Amelia Bambridge in the Gulf of Thailand northwest of Koh Rong.

Bambridge's body was found close to another island, Koh Chhlam in neighboring Koh Kong province, near Cambodia's maritime border with Thailand. Her body was spotted floating in the water among some rocks.

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"The body is being transported to a marina from the Thai border. It will take two hours to reach the mainland," Narin told Reuters. "According to the people who are transporting her body, it's almost 100 percent her, looking at her body's markings, including tattoo," Narin said.

Amelia Bambridge's brother, Harry Bambridge, gave a press conference during the search after the 21-year-old British tourist went missing last weekImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Sinith

The police chief added that Bambridge's family was with the authorities when they found the body but it was not immediately known if or when they might view the body. The police are expected to carry out an autopsy when the body reaches the mainland. Earlier indications had pointed to drowning as the cause of death.

The discovery of Bambridge's bag with money, a cellphone and a watch on a rock near the edge of the ocean on Koh Rong had prompted an investigation that comprised of divers, land-based teams and police drones.

mvb/rt (AP, AFP)

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