At least two people were found dead and four others wounded on Wednesday in the aftermath of a fire that tore through a rice factory owned by Golden Rice in Kampong Speu province’s Ksem Ksan commune in Odong district, provincial acting police chief Bun Chantha said.

It was not the first time a fire had engulfed the factory. A similar incident happened last year, but there were no casualties.

The fire broke out at the factory, located on National Road 51, on Wednesday afternoon. Firefighters managed to completely extinguish the fire at 6pm, after using nine fire engines.

“The fire started when the workers were [soldering the roof frame]. Sparks fell and ignited some stocked gas tubes,” Chantha said.

Kampong Speu governor Vei Samnang told The Post that he had not received a full report regarding the incident and that the police are investigating the identity of the deceased.

“We have yet to figure out the actual cause of the fire. At the moment we are trying to save people first,” he said.

Commune chief Phorn Sary suspected that an electrical malfunction had triggered the fire, the same reason last year’s similar incident happened.

“Now the fire is under control, but we do not know how much destruction it has caused yet,” he said.

The factory employs about 100 staff members, Sary said.