Close X
Monday, December 2, 2024
ADVT 
National

Winnipeg Woman Dies In Cambodia While On Backpacking Trek Through Asia

Darpan News Desk, 16 Nov, 2017 12:17 PM
    WINNIPEG — A Winnipeg woman who loved to travel and was just beginning a teaching career fell sick and died this week while on a year-long backpacking trek through Asia, a long-time friend said Wednesday.
     
    Samantha Gilkes says her 27-year-old friend, Abbey Gail Amisola, died in a hostel in Cambodia after getting medicine.
     
    "We haven't heard much about what has happened, just that her and her friend were ill, they went to the pharmacist to get some medication," Gilkes said.
     
    The federal government said a Canadian citizen had died in Cambodia, but would not release details or confirm the citizen's identity, citing privacy laws.
     
    "Consular officials in Cambodia are providing consular assistance to the family and are also in contact with local authorities," Philip Hannan, spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, wrote in an email.
     
    The Manitoba Teachers Society said Amisola was a member of the union and expressed condolences to her family.
     
    Gilkes, along with her brother Tyler, set up a fundraising web page ( https://www.gofundme.com/help-the-amisola-family ) to help Amisola's family. The site had raised more than $11,000 by Wednesday afternoon.
     
    "I met Abbey when I was nine and ... she's a really amazing person. She has a huge heart of gold and she would be the first person to help anybody in a situation like this," Gilkes said.
     
    Amisola had recently earned her education degree and set off in September for a trek through Asia, she added.
     
    "She loved to travel. She was funny. She had a zest for life. She was just a really good person," Gilkes said.
     
    "Her goal was to experience the world and see what it had to offer."
     
    A British newspaper, The Daily Mail, reported Amisola was travelling with a 22-year-old English woman named Natalie Jade Seymour, and the two had taken medication after suffering symptoms of food poisoning.
     
    Lee Verlander, owner of Monkey Republic Guest House in Kampot, Cambodia, said in an emailed statement that staff "are devastated by the tragic deaths of the two young women yesterday morning.
     
    "They had been feeling unwell and had visited a pharmacy to get medication. The local police are investigating possible causes, and we're respecting the privacy of the women's families, who are in contact with the British and Canadian embassies."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Trudeau Government To Cut Small Business Tax Rate To 9% By 2019

    Trudeau Government To Cut Small Business Tax Rate To 9% By 2019
    When Small Businesses Prosper, So Does Canada: Government Moves To Reduce Small Business Tax Rate And Support Fairness For The Middle Class 

    Trudeau Government To Cut Small Business Tax Rate To 9% By 2019

    Have You Seen This Man: Bank Robbery Caught On Camera In Abbotsford

    Have You Seen This Man: Bank Robbery Caught On Camera In Abbotsford
    The suspect is described as a Caucasian male, 30-40 years of age, 5’10” tall, with a medium build. He was wearing a green shirt, light-coloured jeans and a baseball cap with the letters “SPC” on it.

    Have You Seen This Man: Bank Robbery Caught On Camera In Abbotsford

    Homicide Detectives Called After Woman's Body Found In West End Apartment

    Homicide Detectives Called After Woman's Body Found In West End Apartment
      No Arrests Have Been Made, But Police Do Not Think The Death Was Random. The Investigation Is Ongoing.

    Homicide Detectives Called After Woman's Body Found In West End Apartment

    Winnipeg Police Officer Charged After Pedestrian Dies In Hit-And-Run

    Winnipeg's police chief says off-duty officers have the same right as anyone else to socialize after work, sometimes with alcohol.

    Winnipeg Police Officer Charged After Pedestrian Dies In Hit-And-Run

    BC Premier John Horgan Sends Diwali Greetings

    Today, we join members of the Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist communities in British Columbia, across Canada and around the world to celebrate Diwali, Deepavali and Bandi Chhor Divas.

    BC Premier John Horgan Sends Diwali Greetings

    Refugee Minister Ahmed Hussen Calls RCMP Questionnaire Targeting Muslims 'Unacceptable'

    Refugee Minister Ahmed Hussen Calls RCMP Questionnaire Targeting Muslims 'Unacceptable'
    VANCOUVER — Canada's immigration minister is condemning an RCMP questionnaire that appears to target Muslim asylum seekers crossing the border from the United States into Quebec.

    Refugee Minister Ahmed Hussen Calls RCMP Questionnaire Targeting Muslims 'Unacceptable'