Thirty-three people died during the three-day Khmer New Year and approximately 500 people were injured in traffic accidents, Ung Chenhour, director of the transportation department at the Transportation Ministry, said Wednesday.
The highest number of deaths reported this holiday occurred in Banteay Meanchey province, where seven passengers died, Ung Chenhour said.
In Kandal province, 26 traffic accidents claimed five lives and left 20 people critically injured and 51 passengers slightly injured, said Son Phen, the deputy Kandal provincial police chief .
In Siem Reap province, two people died, four people were critically injured and five people were slightly injured, provincial Traffic Police Chief Thorng Sokhun said.
Three accidents were reported in Sihanoukville, in which two people died and three people were critically injured, the municipality’s traffic police Chief Prumb Pol said.
Given the large amount of traffic in the seaside town, the casualty rate was lower than expected, he added.
“Based on the traffic police reports alone we can see a slight increase in the number of accidents but a decrease in the number of fatalities,” Handicap International Road Safety Project Coordinator Jean Van Wetter said of this year’s casualty rate compared to 2005.
“Overall it is about the same as last year,” he added.
