By Lauren Crothers
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AA) – A total of 70 garment workers were injured in Cambodia when a truck transporting them to a factory crashed Wednesday.
The incident was the latest in a series of accidents that have become emblematic of the transportation risks workers face in the country.
The Ministry of Labor released a statement “to express our deep condolences to the families and the relatives of the victims and wish that they get better soon”.
The statement by ministry representative Heng Suor said the accident happened after 6 a.m. (2300GMT Tuesday) on a stretch of national road in southern Kompong Speu province, as the workers were headed to neighboring Kompong Chhnang province.
“The injured workers were rescued by local authorities and officials of the National Social Security Fund from the ministry,” it added.
As of 11.30 a.m., 67 workers were in three hospitals and another three had been allowed to return home.
The statement said the ministry would “find solutions” for the workers and their families with the National Social Security Fund.
Although Cambodia’s $5.7-billion garment industry has grown over the past few years, the unsafe transport of workers — a largely informal and unregulated sector — is a key issue for the approximately 700,000 workers earning a $128 minimum wage.
Open-topped cattle trucks and small vans stuffed with scores of workers are common sights on Cambodia’s national roads.
Last month, a man was killed and 34 people injured when a garment van was involved in a multi-vehicle crash in southwestern Cambodia.
In January, five factory workers were killed and at least 65 injured in a road collision in Kompong Speu, the same province where Wednesday’s crash happened.
