The skeletal remains of a seven-year-old boy have been discovered, 49 days after he was swept away by a flash flood, along with three other members of a Tompuon indigenous community in Ping village, Samaki commune, in Ratanakkiri province’s O’Chum district.
A fisherman discovered a human bone along a stream as floodwaters receded and reported the find to local authorities on Thursday, November 13, according to the district administration.
District governor Keang Tola led a team of officials and local police to the site, known as O’Chil stream in Kam village, La’ak commune. The location is 3–4 kilometres from where the boy was swept from his home.
Digging at the site uncovered several bones, including parts of the torso, a skull fragment and a red shirt.
A man identified as the victim’s uncle showed authorities a photograph on his phone of the missing boy wearing the red football jersey.
“This is definitely his shirt — I have the same one in my phone,” he said. “His name was Pheak Mun. He was seven years old.”
Based on the on-site inspection and the family’s identification, police concluded that the remains belonged to Mun, one of five people who were swept away when a flash flood struck two houses late in the night or early hours of September 25-26.
The first family of two included Chum Vat, 58, and Pam Doeurn, 44. The second family included three members: Rat Cheay, 31, seven-year-old Pheak Mun, and one-year-old Pheak Ret.
On the evening of September 26, the body of Chum Vat was discovered about one kilometre from the site.
The team searched the location where Mun was discovered but found no trace of the three remaining missing persons.
In the first nine months of 2025, at least 120,000 people across 20 provinces were affected by heavy rainfall and Mekong River flooding. Twenty people drowned.
