Garment factory floor collapse injures 4 in Cambodia

Four Cambodian garment workers were slightly injured on Tuesday after part of the floor in a garment factory collapsed into a pond built underneath, a local police chief confirmed.
The incident occurred at 10:00 a.m. (local time) at Nishiku Enterprise in Bati district of southern Takeo province, Nham Sary, police chief of Bati district, said.
"It is not the collapse of the factory building," he told Xinhua over telephone, denying local media reports that the building fell down and trapped dozens of workers.
"Only four female workers sustained slight injuries when part of the floor of the factory collapsed into a 20 meter-by-40-meter pond, which was built underneath the factory's floor," he said.
He blamed the incident on the factory's neglect in constructing the concrete floor without using steel.
According to information posted on the website of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, the factory employed about 1,200 workers, producing pants and trousers.
It was the third incident in garment factories in the last two years. In May last year, there was a collapse of a concrete ceiling in Wing Star Shoes factory, leaving two workers dead and nine others seriously injured. In the same month, a kiosk at Top World garment factory collapsed into a lake, causing injuries to 23 workers.
The garment industry is Cambodia's largest foreign currency earner, representing more than 80 percent of the country's total exports.
The sector comprises 960 factories with approximately 620,000 workers, according to the labor ministry.
The industry exported products in equivalent to 3.99 billion U. S. dollars in the first eight months of this year, up 11 percent over the same period last year.