Thursday, May 16, 2013

Collapse at Cambodia shoe factory


16 May 2013
BBC News

Part of a shoe factory has collapsed in Cambodia, leaving at least two people dead, officials say.

The concrete roof at the factory in Kampong Speu province, west of Phnom Penh, crashed on to employees as they were working, a police spokesman said.

Teams were working to rescue people from the rubble. At least six people were injured, police said.

The garment industry is Cambodia's biggest employer and export earner.

More than half a million people are employed in the industry, for which the minimum wage rose this month from $61 (£40) to $75 a month. Many of the factories make clothes for the US and European markets.


Workplace safety in nations at the heart of the global garment industry has been in the spotlight in recent weeks, following the collapse of a commercial building housing garment factories in Bangladesh.

More than 1,100 people died in the disaster, which was Bangladesh's worst industrial accident.

'Brick and iron'

Reports suggested as many as 100 people could have been working inside the factory when the collapse happened.

"We cannot say how many were trapped under the debris," a local police chief told AFP news agency.

One report said the weight of equipment stored on the roof caused the collapse.

"We were working normally and suddenly several pieces of brick and iron started falling on us," injured 25-year-old Kong Thary was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

The factory was said to be owned by a Taiwanese manufacturer.

In the wake of the Bangladesh tragedy, more than a dozen European companies, including discount clothing company Primark and UK supermarket chain Tesco, have signed up to a new legally-binding deal aimed at improving factory conditions in Bangladesh.

But many key US companies, including Gap Inc and Walmart, are not on board.

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