A British woman is feared dead after her cruise boat hit a rock and sank within a minute in south-east Asia on Saturday.
Searches are continuing for BBC worker Johanna Powell after the traditional wooden cruise boat she was travelling in hit a rock in a stretch of rapids along the Mekong river near Pak Beng, Laos.
Ms Powell, from Cardiff, disappeared in the strong current as the boat's crew, tour guide and other passengers, including her friends, swam to safety.
A spokesman for BBC Wales said they are "very concerned" for Ms Powell and are supporting her family.
Adisak Star, the co-owner of cruise company Negi of Mekong that owned the boat, said Ms Powell was travelling with three female friends who all survived.
"The boat has a steel bottom but is otherwise made of wood hit a rock in the rapids and sank in a minute," he told Mail Online.
"It was that fast. Everyone on board went into the water but there were rocks for people to cling to. They were all able to get to the river bank except for Ms Powell."
A huge search across 20km of the isolated river is currently underway.
One of Ms Powell's colleagues described her as "lovely, outgoing and always smiling".
The University of East Anglia graduate, who also helps to run a hotel, was on a three-week holiday in south-east Asia.
She spent Friday night on a chartered boat and had an overnight stay at the DP guesthouse in the village of Pakbeng, before setting sail on the wooden cruise at 8am on Saturday, Mail Online reports.
The accident happened at 9.30am, and her friends were taken to Luang Prabang before being flown to Vientiane.
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