Cambodian migrants killed in Thai accident

Four Cambodian women and children were killed when the truck they were riding in overturned in Thailand’s Chonburi province at around 1am yesterday as the illegal migrant workers were trying to evade Thai police.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said the accident also killed the truck’s driver and his assistant, and left several others injured.

“While the car was carrying the workers from Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province to Chonburi to escape from police, it had the accident by itself, killing two Thai nationals, four Cambodians – two females, and two children – while two [others] were seriously injured and six others were slightly injured,” he said.

The Bangkok Post, however, reported that the accident killed five Cambodians and the Thai driver, and injured eight, including seven Cambodians.

A police official was quoted as saying that the truck was travelling at high speed to escape arrest when the driver lost control and swerved off of the road.

According to Kuong, after the incident, Cambodian Embassy officers in Thailand went to the scene to search for relatives of the victims and found that all of them had come from Siem Reap illegally to find work. Funeral arrangements are being made for the four dead.

The embassy will work with Thai authorities to file a case against the truck’s owner for compensation, he added.