A mistake with a welding torch started a Russei Keo district fire that destroyed 87 homes and displaced hundreds along the Tonle Sap, area residents said.
Fire broke out around 1 pm Wednesday in the crowded Phnom Penh district and ripped through the neighborhood. Authorities originally said the fire started after an electrical malfunction in the home of Nguon Heng, but residents over the weekend said that welders were using an acetylene torch to rebuild a large steel gate of a water salesman’s home. The torch sent sparks into a wooden home next door, neighbors said, igniting the blaze.
Among those left homeless by the fire were several employees of the Cambodia Beverages Company, a Coca-Cola bottler located next door. The company was providing aid and food to the homeless families, a news release stated.
