A tanker truck carrying 32,000 liters of gasoline overturned and burst into flames in Phnom Penh on Tuesday, killing its driver.
The tanker, which belonged to local gas company Tela, took a turn too fast and flipped over in Chroy Changva district’s Prek Tasek commune, according to commune chief Oeur Siphon.
The truck’s driver, Heng Hon, 44, died in the fire despite efforts by rescue workers to save him.
“The driver was completely burnt, leaving only his bones, and the truck was almost completely burnt too,” Mr. Siphon said.
Nine municipal fire trucks and another four Tela fire trucks responded to the blaze, commune police chief Khuon Chheang said, adding, “It is hard to put out a fire caused by fuel using water.”
A Tela representative said Heng Hon was an experienced driver who was properly licensed. “
The driver might have fallen unconscious after the truck overturned, which could explain why he could not escape from the accident,” said Chan Vireak, sales and marketing representative at Tela’s Prek Phnov station, near where the truck originated Tuesday.
