Twenty-eight workers fainted at Romantic Leather (Cambodia) Co Ltd in Sihanoukville yesterday morning, though the exact reason remains unknown. Yov Khemara, director of the provincial Labour Department, said the cause of the faintings hadn’t yet been identified, but it started when one worker, who was feeling weak, fainted, and workers who witnessed the incident followed one by one.

“They were sent to the hospital immediately,” he said. “They were allowed to rest for a day, and if they feel better, they can come back to work.”

Company representatives couldn’t be reached, and an official at the provincial referral hospital declined to comment.

Such faintings are far from uncommon. In 2016, 1,160 workers fainted at factories across the country, according to statistics released earlier this month by the National Social Security Fund.