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 . '
Johanna Powell from Cardiff is feared to have drowned in the rogue river . news reporting for BBC news was on ' trip of a kind ' to Laos with friends . Cruise boat hit a rock in a stretch of river and sank within minutes . Huge search launched over 20 km of river to try and rescue another woman .