Diesel fumes kill six Cambodian villagers draining well

A body being recovered from the well (Photo: Chanthet, Koh Santepheap)

Mar 9, 2010
DPA

Phnom Penh - Six villagers died one after another after entering a well filled with diesel fumes in east-central Cambodia, national media reported Tuesday.

The villagers had decided to use a diesel pump rather than buckets for the annual task of removing contaminated water from the well, the Cambodia Daily newspaper said.

Commune chief Men Sarun was quoted as saying the first man climbed into the well and installed the diesel pump above the waterline, about 2 metres below the top of the 9-metre-deep well. However, he succumbed to the fumes shortly after starting the motor, Men Sarun said.

Another two men then climbed into the well and managed to stop the engine but died too. As the others descended one after another to investigate, they were also overcome, the commune chief said.

The last to die managed to call out a warning before falling unconscious. His action prevented a seventh villager from going into the well.

'Due to these deaths caused by the old well, many villagers who currently use water from the well will never use it again,' Men Sarun told the newspaper.

The incident happened in Kampong Cham province, east of Phnom Penh. Cambodia has limited infrastructure, particularly in rural areas, where the majority of its people live, and many Cambodians source water from wells and rivers.

Cambodian dad, four sons electrocuted

Fri, Oct 30, 2009
AFP

PHNOM PENH - A Cambodian father and his four sons died in a chain of electrocution on Friday when the front door to the family's corrugated-metal house cut into a power line, police said.

The deadly incident happened in Phnom Penh's Russey Keo commune when Mok En, 65, opened the door and it hit a power line connected to his home, triggering his electrocution, local police chief Sun Kanareth told AFP.

"When he opened up the door, it pinched the electric wire and he was immediately electrocuted and fell down with his left hand holding the door," he said.

"But the sons thought he had been hit by a fainting spell and they rushed to help him. So they were all electrocuted as soon as they touched the father," he added.

Four-fifths of Cambodians do not have proper access to electricity, and many use unsafe methods to tap into power grids.

5 killed, 1 seriously injured by electric shock in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Five people were killed and one was seriously injured by an electric shock caused by short circuit on Friday morning in Phnom Penh, police from Phnom Penh authority said.

The incident occurred on Friday morning, at about 6:30 o'clock local time, in a family who's old father, 67-years-old, was first found died at the door, and other four people were killed and one was seriously injured when they wanted to support the old man, according to a policeman who asked not to be named.

Police said the incident was caused by short circuit because the family's house was in a low-lying place and had water standing due to raining for several days. Four were died instantly, and another one was seriously injured. They all killed by short circuit because their house was built mostly by used iron sheets.

Cambodian boy killed by hornets

Sep 29, 2009
AFP

PHNOM PENH - A YOUNG Cambodian boy was stung to death by hornets after a strong wind blew the insects' nest from a palm tree, local authorities said Tuesday.

The nine-year-old boy died on Sunday after being stung more than 30 times last week in Cambodia's quiet coastal province of Kampot, said commune chief Hay Seng.

'He was walking with his mother under a palm tree and unfortunately, a strong wind blew off a branch holding the hornets' nest, triggering the attack,' Hay Seng told AFP by telephone.

The mother was also stung a few times, he added.

The last deadly hornet attack in the country was reported in 2007, when two Cambodian children and their mother were stung to death after disturbing a nest while cutting firewood.