In the country’s latest mass fainting episode, one garment worker died after inhaling what authorities suspect to have been toxic fumes and 27 others collapsed at the Taiwanese-owned Accasette Garment factory in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district on Wednesday.

Kraing Pongro Commune Police Chief Toeb Bunthen said yesterday that the deceased, Khat Samerl, 43, fainted shortly after lunch.

“According to the claim of some female workers, the victim fainted in the bathroom after she had worked for an hour after lunch time. The victim died on the way to the hospital in Por Sen Chey district,” he said, adding that 27 workers fainted upon receiving news of the death.

“According to the primary conclusion of local authorities, the deceased might have died of suffocation due to inhalation of chemical substances,” he said.

Som Aun, director of the National Union Alliance Chamber of Cambodia, said that the National Social Security Fund “has to take full responsibility” for the accident.

An NSSF spokesperson could not be reached for comment. A company representative confirmed the incident yesterday.