One girl died and her younger brother lost two fingers and suffered head injuries when a train struck the two victims while they were sleeping on rail tracks at 4am on July 7. The incident occurred in Chhoeu Tom commune’s Ponnak village of Pursat province’s Krakor district.

Nhanh Et, a 13-year-old girl, died at the scene, while the seriously injured brother, Nhanh Nhean, 8, was taken to Chhoeu Tom health centre for treatment. The siblings lived in the commune’s Cham Chas village.

Krakor district police chief Em Ron told The Post on July 7 that the accident happened where the road crossed the rail tracks. In the morning, police heard that someone had been crushed by a train.

He said police arrived at the scene and saw that victims were crushed by a train. The girl was lying on the tracks with a crushed head and neck. The boy was also hit by a train and had severed fingers and head injuries.

“According to relatives, the two children went out to collect scrap at about 3am to 4am. Perhaps they felt sleepy and slept on the tracks.

This was usually fine, but this time a train came and crushed them. Police have thoroughly investigated the case and determined the cause of the accident,” he said.

Ron stated that at 10:00am on July 7, the bodies of the victims were handed over to their families for a traditional ceremony.

He said the incident happened in the early morning and he learned of the incident at 6am. He later checked the accident scene, reported to his superiors and handed the body over to relatives.