Two Workers Dead After Electrical Pole Snaps in Half

A young man and a teenager died instantly on Saturday when the electricity pole they were working on in Mondolkiri province broke in half, according to police.

San Sothun, 24, and Yem Sokhen, 15, were tied to the top of the 9-meter-tall concrete pole by their harnesses and attaching an electrical wire when the poll suddenly broke, sending the top half crashing to the ground along with the two workers.

“Both men died when the 9-meter-high electricity pole broke and fell on them,” Kan Penh, the Koh Nhek district police chief, said on Sunday.

He said the man and teenager were working for the EM Electricity Company, which had been subcontracted—he did not know by whom—to install a power line from neighboring Ratanakkiri province along Road 76.

The Labor Law sets the minimum working age at 15, though anyone engaged in potentially dangerous work must be at least 18.

Mr. Penh said he did not know whether the company would be held accountable for the deaths and referred the question to provincial authorities, who could not be reached.

The company also could not be reached.

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