FOUR Cambodians were killed and seven injured in Thailand's Sing Buri province on April 23 when the truck in which they were fleeing from police collided with a concrete pole, a Ministry of Defence official told the Post Thursday.

The Cambodians, all construction workers, were in Thailand illegally, said Lo Mithuna, the ministry official, who added that they were being taken by a Thai driver to work on a construction project on a farm when Thai police began chasing them, he said.  

"We are sad for them," Lo Mithuna said of the victims.

"We are working with Thai officials to repatriate the four dead Cambodians and the seven injured Cambodians for funerals and treatment."

Morl Chit, a ministry official who prepared a report on the case, said Thursday that the relatives of the victims had travelled to the Poipet border crossing to receive the dead bodies and transfer the injured back to their homes in Banteay Meanchey province's O'Chrov district.  

They were waiting at the border crossing as of Thursday afternoon, he said.

"I was told by Thai officials that the bodies were being processed to be repatriated into Cambodia," Morl Chit said.

"The injured people would also be sent back to Cambodia [today]," he added.

The injured Cambodians are currently in Thailand's Sa Kaeo province, he said.

The construction workers were returning to work in Thailand after visiting Cambodia for Khmer New Year.

Three women among dead

Smor Doeung, 43, said his niece and nephew were among the injured and that the husband of his niece was killed in the crash.

He said three of the dead were women: Rorn Ki, 30, Ren Lab, 44, and Srey Mao, whose age he could not provide.

The one man among the dead was Savoeuy Savong, whose age Smor Doeung also did not know.