A 15-year-old boy died in a fire on Tuesday when a hut in Preah Sihanouk province’s Prey Nop district went up in flames, Bit Traing commune police chief Keo Savuth said.

He added that six people, including the parents of victim Meng Tong, were interrogated yesterday morning due to initial suspicions of foul play though it was ultimately ruled an accident.

Tong, whose remains were found on Tuesday night, died while his parents were away, Savuth said. He said the victim and his parents - Sem Choeun and Mom Heng - were hired to stay and work at the farm several days ago by farm owner Buth Bunthoeun.

According to Savuth, the victim’s parents told the police that, before the incident, Bunthoeun and his relatives visited them with two cases of beer and started to drink. They were both visiting the farm owner’s home when the blaze erupted.

“Suddenly, my husband and I as well as Bunthoeun and his relatives ran towards the hut to save my son. But by the time we reached there, the house was completely burned down and my son had died,” Savuth quoted the mother as saying.

Prey Nop district deputy police chief Morm Sokhom said that after the interrogations, police concluded the fire was an accident.

“It might have been caused by the victim swinging his limbs against the kerosene lamp which fell onto the petrol bottle,” he said.