Mystery blaze destroys timber, vehicles at Pursat forestry office

At least 27 vehicles loaded with confiscated timber were destroyed by fire while parked in the Kravanh Forestry Administration compound in Pursat province on Sunday, leaving no evidence for potential prosecution and rights groups doubting the authorities’ version of events.

Phnom Kravanh district deputy police chief Sem Rorn, who helped put out the fire, said police are still unsure of the exact reason for the blaze, since the compound is surrounded by a concrete wall. Their current theory is that the fire spread through the dry grass-filled drains under the wall.

“After the fire died, police checked the surrounding area and noticed that the drain pipes were full of grass,” he said. “It is the initial point of the spread of the fire into the Forestry Administration’s campus.”

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