People are seen watching firefighters tackling the blaze after an explosion at a shop selling gas in Sangkat Boeng Reang, Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh, on July 18, 2020. - The Phnom Penh Post/Asian News Network
PHNOM PENH, July 19 (Xinhua): Four people were killed and five others wounded in a gas cylinder explosion in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, on Saturday (July 18) afternoon, a firefighting police chief said on Sunday.
The accident happened at a gas vending house at St. 63 in Daun Penh district when sparks from a worker welding bars fell on an apparently leaked gas container, Phnom Penh Municipal Firefighting Police Chief Prum Yot said.
Negligence was blamed for the fire, as firefighters took more than an hour to extinguish the flame and to remove dozens of unexploded gas cylinders from the house, he added.
Meanwhile, the Phnom Penh Post, reported that Ministry of Interior Fire Prevention Department chief Neth Vantha said: "The fire is still being extinguished and two bodies have been removed so far. Another body is yet to be retrieved.
“We have sent one injured person to be treated. The cause of the fire is yet unknown," he said.
Vantha said nearly 40 fire trucks and some 100 firefighters were used in the firefighting operation. As of 7pm, firefighters are still tackling the blaze.
Phnom Penh Municipal governor Khuong Sreng told The Post: "We have not yet identified the victims. I am working on this.”
Ministry of Interior Fire Prevention Department chief Neth Vantha said: "The fire is still being extinguished and two bodies have been removed so far. Another body is yet to be retrieved.
“We have sent one injured person to be treated. The cause of the fire is yet unknown," he said.
Vantha said nearly 40 fire trucks and some 100 firefighters were used in the firefighting operation. As of 7pm, firefighters are still tackling the blaze.
Phnom Penh Municipal governor Khuong Sreng told The Post: "We have not yet identified the victims. I am working on this.”
