Six die as pressure cooker explodes

A large pressure cooker used for making noodles exploded in the Cambodian capital today, killing six people and injuring 17 others.

The accident occurred inside a noodle-making shop near a busy market in central Phnom Penh, said Kong Rith, a local district official.

He said the shop’s owners and two of their staff died instantly in the early morning blast.

A chunk of the cooker’s chimney, about three feet long, landed through the zinc roof of a nearby laundry. The debris struck two people sleeping inside, killing them instantly, the official said.

Kong Rith said police suspected the pressure-release valve of the cooker may have failed to operate, raising pressure inside until it burst.

The shop, which collapsed after the blast, employed about 40 people.