At least five people were injured in Banteay Meanchey province’s Poipet town yesterday after an explosion during the cremation of a corpse.

According to Poipet town police chief Um Sophal, the explosion occurred when laymen cremating a recently deceased villager poured too much gasoline onto the flames, resulting in injuries to five onlookers.

“Among the five injured, two of them were injured slightly and three were injured severely and had to be hospitalised in a clinic in Poipet town,” said Sophal.

The cremation ceremony was being held for a local villager who had died several days earlier of an untreated illness.

Last year an eight-year-old girl was killed and nine others were seriously injured when a crematorium blew up in Kampong Cham province.

In that case, the son-in-law of a deceased elderly woman poured 10 litres of diesel and two litres of petrol on her body, which exploded when the crematorium door was closed.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lieng Sarith at [email protected]