Four staff members were injured in an explosion at the Hong Inn repair shop in Phnom Penh’s Pur Senchey district on Wednesday afternoon when a gasoline transport truck exploded as they were doing maintenance work on it.
Deputy district police chief Touch Phorn said the explosion occurred while workers were welding what they thought was an empty PTT company gasoline truck, adding that the blast blew a hole in the ceiling.
“While the tanker’s pump was being welded during maintenance at the garage, it may have become too hot, making the tank explode,” he said.
The garage on National Road 4, where PTT and Total tankers were undergoing repairs, is just 500 meters away from the Khmer Rouge tribunal.
The explosion, which occurred at 3:25 p.m., shook the walls of the courtroom and briefly disrupted proceedings.
In addition to destroying the truck, the blast also left pieces of the garage’s metal roof scattered across the compound and shattered the windows of a nearby office.
The four workers injured in the blast were treated for minor injuries at the Chom Chao Polyclinic near the garage.
