Five Schoolgirls Drown in Cambodia After Their Bus Plunges Into a Pond, Leaving Three Fighting for Survival

Five schoolgirls have drowned after a privately hired vehicle transporting students to school plunged into a deep pond in Cambodia, leaving three others in critical condition and 18 with minor injuries.

The 25-seat Mitsubishi vehicle was carrying 26 students, aged between 12 and 14, when it veered off the road in Kandal province on Tuesday morning, 10 November 2026.

According to Cambodian police, the accident happened at approximately 07:10 local time in Anlong village, Khsach Kandal district, about 25 miles north of the capital, Phnom Penh.

Villagers Rush to Rescue Trapped Schoolchildren

The Associated Press (AP) reported that witnesses told police a motorcycle suddenly crossed in front of the fast-moving vehicle, forcing its driver to brake sharply. The vehicle subsequently skidded off the road and plunged into a roadside pond.

Footage shared on social media showed the vehicle submerged just a few feet from the shore, making it difficult for the children to escape despite the proximity of rescuers.

Villagers rushed into the water to pull the trapped students from the vehicle. Sun Kunthy, one of the residents who helped with the rescue, told AP that rescuers performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on some of the children after bringing them out.

Nov Sokhon, chief traffic police officer of Khsach Kandal district, confirmed that all five girls died by drowning. He said the number of fatalities could have been higher without the intervention of local residents.

Driver Detained as Authorities Investigate Crash

In a report published on 10 November, The Independent said police detained the 31-year-old driver, identified by local media as Meun Thearith, as investigators examined the circumstances surrounding the accident.

The vehicle was transporting the students from Prey Veng province to BELTEI International School's Prek Tameak campus. Police said parents had privately hired it to take their children to school.

Preliminary findings suggested that speeding and careless driving may have contributed to the crash.

'Our preliminary assessment suggested that speeding and careless driving may have caused the accident,' the Kandal provincial police commissariat's quick reaction unit said, as quoted by The Independent.

Road Safety Advocate Calls for Stricter Measures

Kim Pagna, director of the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation (AIP Foundation) Cambodia, offered condolences to the victims' families and called for stronger safeguards for children travelling to school.

According to The Independent, which cited the Phnom Penh Post, Pagna urged schools to establish hotlines where parents and members of the public could report unsafe driving practices, including those involving privately hired student transport.

He also called on authorities to consider imposing speed limits of 30 to 40 kilometres per hour on vehicles carrying schoolchildren, saying slower speeds would give drivers more time to react and brake during emergencies.

Pagna described the loss of young lives while travelling to school as particularly heartbreaking and appealed to motorists to give priority to vehicles transporting students.

The tragedy comes amid continuing road safety concerns in Cambodia. According to National Police figures cited by AP, more than 1,300 people died in traffic accidents during the first 10 months of 2026.

Cambodia's Transport Ministry also recorded 1,467 road fatalities in 2025, highlighting the continuing dangers faced by motorists and passengers.