Two men were fatally crushed after their truck, laden with timber en route to Vietnam, overturned in Tbong Khmum’s Memot district late on Thursday.

According to Hang Sovann Mesa, a district police officer, the men, both in their 20s, were transporting the wood from Kratie to Vietnam and crashed because of excessive speed.

“They drove very fast downhill, then lost control and drove off the road into a nearby canal,” Mesa said.

“The timber destroyed the front cabin, killing the driver on the spot and badly injuring his assistant, who was crushed by the logs of timber, which hit his back.”

The assistant, admitted to the district hospital, died shortly afterwards.

Mesa declined to reveal the victims’ identities, but said they were from Kampong Cham province and their bodies had been taken to a local pagoda.

The provincial Forestry Administration office in Memot has impounded the timber and truck.

Neang sovath, provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc, said many collisions were caused by timber smugglers heading across the border.

“Many vehicles transport timber to sell in Vietnam illegally every day and they cause accidents,” he said.