A freight train loaded with diesel and gasoline derailed in Battambang City’s Andong Chenh village around noon on the 19th. Four diesel tank cars flipped right beside the tracks, sending fuel gushing out of cracked containers like a sudden flash flood.
Hearing the crash, nearby villagers rushed over carrying buckets, pots, and basins, crowding around the overturned tankers to scoop up whatever fuel they could get.
Many of the rail lines in the area are getting on in years, and freight trains usually wobble along at a sluggish pace. On streets filled with locals hauling goods on motorbikes, diesel is always a useful commodity. But with heavy, pungent fumes hanging in the air and a crowd scrambling right next to leaking fuel tanks, it was a nerve-wracking sight to behold.
