Nearly 20 Cambodian workers injured in Thailand truck crash

Wed, 10 February 2016 ppp

Khouth Sophak Chakrya

A nurse checks on Cambodian migrant workers at a hospital in Thailand after they were involved in a traffic accident on Sunday. Photo supplied

At least 19 Cambodians suffered injuries when the truck that was driving them home from their construction jobs in Thailand crashed on Sunday.

The workers, 23 in all, were taking the truck home to celebrate Chinese New Year with their families, according to Yal Bunpov, a communication official at the Poipet border checkpoint.

Thai police said that the truck caught a flat front tire while travelling through Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province, which borders Banteay Meanchey and Battambang.

The truck then veered and crashed into another truck from behind. First responders rushed all the victims to a provincial hospital.

“According to the report from Thai police, after the crash, a Chinese man who was driving [the migrant workers] disappeared; but Thai police are searching for him to make him take responsibility and pay compensation to the victims,” Bunpov said.

Yesterday morning, 17 of the victims were released from the hospital and sent back to Cambodia, including a 3-year-old girl who was riding with her parents, said Sin Namyong, the deputy director in charge of returning migrant workers in Poipet.

Namyong said that the remaining six victims are still being monitored at Sa Kaeo Hospital in Thailand. Thai officials said that they will be sent home once their condition improves.

The accident comes just a day after a driver and a garment worker were killed and 17 more were injured when a truck transporting them crashed into a parked vehicle in Prey Veng province on Saturday.