A man died after a sand bank collapsed on him at a pit dredging site in Kampong Chhnang province’s Kampong Leng district. This is the second case this year in the area where a person has died under similar circumstances.
District police chief Pal Choeun told The Post on the evening of April 25 that the incident happened at 10am on April 23 in Lvea village of the district’s Svay Rompear commune.
The victim, 40-year-old Muth Kunthea, was the owner of the business and resided in Chres village of the district’s Trangil Commune.
Muth Kosal, the victim's younger brother, said he and Kunthea went to prepare a sand pump at the pit to store sand for sale. The victim went down to inspect the sand pipe and started the dredging machine.
When Kunthea went to remove a hose to change the pump head, the bank of the sand pit suddenly collapsed on him.
"His brother and the villagers dug Kunthea out and took him from the pit, but the victim was already dead,” Choeun said.
According to the district police chief, the first such incident occurred in January.
"The sand dredging operations in this area is a family business. The villagers do not have the proper equipment, they just follow what they have learned from others,” he said.
