Kampong Speu: A ceiling collapse at a Cambodian shoe factory killed two workers yesterday, spurring a government vow to inspect all garment plants amid heightened safety fears after last month’s disaster in Bangladesh.
Local rescue teams, helped by soldiers, scrambled to search through the rubble of the fallen structure early yesterday, which appeared to have been on a mezzanine level laden with crates of trainers and canvas shoes.
Khem Pannara, district police chief for the area in the southern province of Kampong Speu, said two staff members were killed and at least 11 injured, some seriously, adding that the rescue operation had ended. He said the concrete ceiling had likely collapsed because it could not hold the weight of equipment stored on it due to “poor construction”.
The Cambodian government said the owner of the “Wing Star Shoes” factory, which employs more than 7,000 people, would have to take responsibility for the incident. “We will investigate the incident and take measures against those involved,” minister of social affairs Ith Samheng told reporters, adding: “We will examine all factories to prevent this kind of incident from happening again.”
Last month a nine-storey factory complex outside Dhaka collapsed, killing 1,127 people in one of the world’s worst industrial disasters. The tragedy put pressure on Western retailers that rely on cheap labour in the region, where safety standards are often inadequate. Say Sokny of Cambodia’s Free Trade Union, a national body for garment and other industrial workers, said the factory is Taiwanese-owned and produces shoes for Japanese sports brand Asics.
The owner was questioned yesterday to find out whether there was a permit for the construction and how the factory -- in Angsokun village, 50kms (30 miles) south of Phnom Penh -- was built, according to national police spokesman Kirt Chantharith.
Earlier, one employee said more than 100 people work in that area of the plant each day, although she did not know how many had been there at the time of the collapse.
“I was so shocked. I am crying. I saw blood in the debris,” 29-year-old Sokny said. AFP
