5 Cambodian schoolgirls killed as a bus skids off a road into a pond

KHSACH KANDAL, Cambodia (AP) — Five girls died on Tuesday morning in Cambodia when a bus taking them to school veered off the road and plunged into a deep pond, police said.

The crash took place in Kandal province, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the capital, Phnom Penh, said a statement posted on Facebook by the provincial police. It said witnesses reported that a motorcycle suddenly crossed in front of the fast-moving bus, causing its driver to slam on the brakes and making the vehicle skid into the roadside water.

Video posted on social media showed the bus sank just a few feet from shore, but deep enough to make escape very difficult, even with assistance from villagers who rushed to try to pull the children out. The rescuers performed CPR on some of the children they extricated, said Sun Kunthy, one of those who rushed to help.

It said 26 students, aged 12 to 14, were on the bus. In addition to the five who died, three others were in critical condition and 18 were lightly injured.

Police detained the 31-year-old driver for questioning.

Nov Sokhon, chief traffic police of Khsach Kandal district, said all five girls died by drowning. He added that the death toll could have been even higher if the local residents had not rescued them in time.

According to a report by the National Police released in early November, traffic accidents across Cambodia killed more than 1,300 people in the first 10 months of this year.

A separate report from the Transport Ministry said that 1,467 people were killed in traffic accidents in 2025, making it by far the leading cause of accidental deaths in the Southeast Asian nation.

In May this year, two accidents in a single day killed at least 14 garment factory workers and injured 79 others, mostly women. They were on flatbed trucks, the usual method of transportation available for workers. The vehicles often lack seats or benches, forcing passengers to stand and significantly increasing the risk of injury or death in a crash.