Twenty-six garment workers were injured, three of them seriously, in Pursat province yesterday morning when the truck they were in overturned, police said.

Ean Vanthorn, Krakor district deputy police chief in charge of traffic, blamed the accident on the driver, whom he said drove carelessly.

“He does not have much knowledge of traffic regulations,” Vanthorn said.

The truck, loaded with female garment workers heading to work, tried to overtake a freight truck on National Road 5. After passing the vehicle, the garment truck’s driver swerved to miss a motorbike and lost control. As the workers lay injured, the driver fled the scene.

Ly Meng Kheang, a manager at the Tai Easy factory, where the women worked, said the three seriously injured had been taken to Calmette Hospital in Phnom Penh.

Meng Kheang said the factory would ask authorities to ensure workers received compensation from the driver and the National Social Security Fund.