The trip last Thursday was supposed to be a pleasure cruise around nearby islands.

Ms Kelly, who completed her teacher training at Moray House School of Education, said all the passengers managed to escape the boat wi
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thout serious injury, but criticised the lack of health and safety procedures on board.

She added that the organisers of the trip, which left from Serendipity Beach in the resort town of Sihanoukville, failed to check on her and her friends to see how they were, and said that because they had decided to take the trip at the last minute, they were not listed as official passengers.

Ms Kelly said: "There was no compensation, no-one came to speak to us to check we were OK.

"It was pretty much the most terrifying thing to happen to me.

"I'm just glad to be alive and still able to enjoy the rest of my trip here - some people were booking flights home early because they were so freaked out by it."

Cambodian police reports of the incident said there were 92 tourists on board the boat, but those who were there claimed the figure was much higher because of the unlisted people who turned up without pre-booking.

The police said the boat capsized after drunken passengers started dancing and made it unstable, but those who were there strongly dispute this version of events.

One person wrote on an online discussion board: "Three friends of mine that were on the boat did not report any unruly behaviour or crazy dancing that capsized the boat.

"If the correct number of people were on the boat it would not have happened. The boat was clearly overpacked. The safety certificate for that boat was 45 people, not the 110 people that were on board."

Another wrote: "It is an absolute lie to say that the dancers caused the boat to overturn