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At least 13 people were killed and 24 injured early Thursday after an overnight bus plunged into a canal off National Road 6 in Kampong Thom province, local authorities said.
Mang Vitou, Kampong Thom’s deputy police chief for public order and traffic, said the Virak Rithy bus, which like most overnight routes carried two drivers who alternate, had 37 people on board when it hit the side of a bridge before careening into the canal at about 3:20 a.m. in Santuk district.
“Our conclusion is that the driver might have been asleep when the incident occurred,” he said, noting that all passengers were Cambodian and that it was not yet confirmed whether one of the drivers was among the dead.
The bus departed Oddar Meanchey province and picked up passengers in Siem Reap before heading toward Phnom Penh when the crash occurred.
The injured were taken to a provincial hospital in Kampong Thom, said Mao Chanthy, Santuk district police chief, adding that most passengers were from Oddar Meanchey but their condition was not yet confirmed.
Santuk district governor Long Kisoeung said the dead have been identified and that ambulances have been arranged to return their bodies to their families.
The crash has prompted transportation safety advocates to renew calls for stronger traffic safety standards and safer driving practices
“The number of road fatalities is driven by excessive speeding, dangerous overtaking, and violations of right-of-way,” said Kong Ratanak, director of the Institution of Road Safety, a road-safety advocacy group, citing that three to four people are killed in traffic incidents a day in Cambodia.
Ratanak, who did not speculate on the Virak Rithy bus driver’s condition during the crash, highlighted a nationwide issue of long-haul drivers not getting adequate rest and, in some cases, using substances to stay alert.
Interior Minister Sar Sokha extended condolences to the families of the victims and called on citizens to follow traffic safety laws and strengthen driver education and enforcement.
A recent report for the National Road Safety Committee showed nearly 700 people died in traffic accidents in the first half of 2025, roughly 100 fewer than the same period last year.
In 2024, Cambodia recorded 2,844 road accidents that killed 1,509 people and injured 3,720, a 14% decrease in fatalities compared with 2023.
(Additional reporting by Sok Sreymey)
