article: Emergency services in Laos have recovered a body in the search for Johanna Powell, from Cardiff. The 37-year-old is feared to have drowned while on holiday in Laos after a tourist boat she was travelling in hit a rock and sank in the Mekong river . A body has been recovered in the search for a missing BBC worker, who is feared to have drowned while on a dream holiday in south east Asia. Johanna Powell, a picture editor working for BBC Wales, was reported missing on Saturday after a cruise boat she was in hit a rock and sank 'within a minute'. The 37-year-old was sailing on a traditional wooden cruise boat along the Mekong river in Laos with three friends when it hit a rock in a stretch of rapids. The crew, tour guide and other passengers - including her friends - all swam to safety, but Ms Powell, from Cardiff, disappeared in the strong current. Rescuers launched a massive search along 20km of the river to try and find her, in one of the most isolated parts of the country. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) confirmed a body has been found, but it has not yet been identified. A BBC Wales spokeswoman said: 'We are aware that a body has been found in the area where Jo went missing following a boating incident on Saturday. 'Our thoughts remain with her family, friends and colleagues at this difficult time.' Ms Powell - who combined working at the BBC with helping to run a hotel - was in the country as part of a three-week holiday, starting in Bangkok. One of her group was marking their 40th birthday . Ms Powell was travelling on a boat like this along the Mekong river, when it hit a rock in a stretch of rapids. While the rest of the passengers and crew managed to swim to safety, she disappeared under the water . A spokesman for BBC Wales, where Ms Powell worked as a picture editor, said they were 'very concerned' about their missing colleague. The Foreign Office confirmed a British national has been reported missing . They spent Friday night on the chartered boat, and had an overnight stay at the DP guesthouse in the village of Pakbeng. The boat set sail at 8am on Saturday, before the accident happened at 9.30am. Passengers on the trip are not required to wear life-jackets and one survivor said the water was very rough 'like a washing machine'. 'It was terrifying. We all thought we were going to die', she added. Her brother-in-law Dean Price said the family was told she was asleep when the boat hit a rock in rapids causing it to tip, take on water and capsize, said the BBC. The tragedy happened in a remote part of Laos in the Mekong river, pictured.  Emergency services in the country have now launched a massive search, covering 20km of the river, to try and find missing Ms Powell . A work colleague described Cardiff resident Ms Powell, 37, as 'lovely, outgoing and always smiling' Adisak Star, the co-owner of cruise company Negi of Mekong that owned the boat, said they did not know what happened to her. He said: 'Ms Powell was travelling with three women friends who have all been accounted for. 'The boat which has a steel bottom but is otherwise made of wood hit a rock in the rapids and sank in a minute. 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.' Friends in Cardiff are taking care of her dog called Agatha Christie. A work colleague, who asked not to be named, paid tribute to the University of East Anglia graduate, saying: 'She is lovely, outgoing and always smiling. 'She had been looking forward to the trip for a long time.' After the accident her friends and the other survivors were taken to Luang Prabang and have been flown to Vientiane where they were being dealt with by consular officials. The owner of the cruise company whose boat sank while Ms Powell was a passenger vowed they would not give up looking for her. The survivors of the accident clung to rocks on the Mekong river to help keep afloat . Alex Chitdara, co-owner of rival company Shompoo Cruise said the accident happened on a very isolated stretch of the Mekong river. 'There are few roads and no telephones or mobile phone signal', he said. 'The water level is low, you have to know what you are doing to get a boat that big through the rapids.'
highlights: Johanna Powell from Cardiff is feared to have drowned in the Mekong river .
  Picture editor for BBC Wales was on 'trip of a lifetime' to Laos with friends .
  Cruise boat hit a rock in a stretch of rapids and sank within minutes .
  Huge search launched over 20km of river to try and find missing woman .
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