Two of the seven family members brutally attacked as they slept in Sihanoukville on Tuesday have died of their injuries.

Between the hours of 12am and 1am on Tuesday morning, an as-yet-unidentified attacker broke into Um Phanna’s family home in Sihanoukville’s Lek 1 commune, Village 1, and hacked at her children and mother as they slept.

Phanna, 32, whose five children were badly injured in the attack, died yesterday at the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital in Phnom Penh.

Her 12-year-old child, who was also brought to Phnom Penh for treatment yesterday, died on the way to the capital.

Preah Sihanouk provincial police chief Chuon Narin confirmed that the two had died.

“The victim, the 32-year-old mother, died at the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital, and one of the four kids who was sent to Kantha Bopha Hospital died on the way,” he confirmed.

He added that the hunt for suspects was ongoing but declined to comment further on any leads uncovered in the investigation.

Images taken by police of the crime scene depicted the children in the aftermath of the attack sprawled across their shared bed and spattered with blood.

Four of the surviving children – all under 12 years of age – are continuing treatment at Kantha Bopha Hospital. Phanna’s mother, 65, is at Khmer-Soviet.

“The grandmother is still in very critical condition at the Russian hospital,” said Jim McCabe of the Child Protection Unit, which is leading the investigation, adding that the surviving children were in urgent need of blood donations.