Two garment workers hurt in truck accident

A garment worker is treated after the truck she was travelling in collided with a truck carrying pigs on Monday in Takeo province. Facebook

Wed, 29 March 2017

Kong Meta

p

At least two garment workers and a truck driver were injured on Monday evening when the vehicle they were travelling in collided with another truck carrying pigs in Takeo province.

Bati district deputy police chief Chhorn Treun said the truck was carrying 50 workers from Phnom Penh after their factory shifts, when it swerved onto the wrong side of the road, hitting a truck carrying four pigs and, according to police, injured both drivers and two garment workers.

However, a National Social Security Fund (NSSF) statement reported 16 workers injured in the incident, three of whom sustained serious injuries and were recovering at Preah Kossamak Hospital in Phnom Penh. The others were sent to a local clinic.

“I think the garment worker truck was the one who caused the accident because he drove across to the other side [of the road],” Treun said.

When Treun arrived at the scene, he found the garment truck driver and two workers unconscious and covered in blood. They were then sent to the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital, he said.

The accident also left the pig transport driver with a broken leg. The pigs were uninjured, Treun added.

NSSF figures for 2016 showed a small drop in garment truck-related accidents, dropping from around 6,400 cases to under 5,700 incidents. The number of workers injured in such accidents, however, saw only a tiny drop of 1 percent, to 7,446 in 2016.