PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A Cambodian teenager died of suffocation after a fish he caught jumped out of his hands and lodged in his throat, newspapers reported on Tuesday.

Lim Vanthan, 17, and his family were planting rice at the weekend near their home on the outskirts of the impoverished Southeast Asian nation's capital, when they decided to go for a swim.

During his dip, Lim Vanthan caught a prized eight-inch fish, called kantrob in Cambodian, with his hands.

But the high school student's excitement was short-lived when his catch squirmed out of his hands and jumped into his mouth, where it became stuck because of barbs running down its back.

He died of suffocation before he could receive treatment at a local clinic, the newspapers said.

"This is an accident, but it shows we must all be careful," concluded the Khmer-language Rasmei Kampuchea (Light of Cambodia) newspaper. "Accidents can happen at any time."