Three teenage sisters in Prey Veng province’s Ba Phnom district are in critical condition from burns received on Friday when a lamp they were attempting to light burst into flames, according to local authorities.

Sim Khorn, chief of Chhoeu Kach commune’s Trapaing Sala village, said yesterday the siblings were attempting to pour gasoline into the lamp without first extinguishing the  flame.

“The three were severely injured; the family covered their wounds, which spread all over their bodies, with a blanket,” he said. The sisters were initially rushed to Ba Phnom district hospital, then transferred to hospital in Phnom Penh, where they are receiving treatment.