Cranes hoist the wreckage of a crashed bus from a river in Kampong Thom province, Cambodia, on Nov. 20, 2025. Thirteen people were killed and 24 others injured after a bus crashed into a bridge's rail and plunged into a river in central Cambodia's Kampong Thom province early Thursday, a local police officer said. (Kampong Thom Provincial Police/Handout via Xinhua)

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Thirteen people were killed and 24 others injured after a bus crashed into a bridge's rail and plunged into a river in central Cambodia's Kampong Thom province early Thursday, a local police officer said.

The fatal accident occurred on a national road in Santuk district at around 3:00 a.m. local time, said Siv Sovanna, deputy police chief of Santuk district.

"Thirteen people, including eight women, were pronounced dead, as 24 others sustained injuries," he told Xinhua over the telephone. "Drowsy driving was the most likely cause of the accident."

The injured people had been rushed to hospital soon after the crash, he said, adding that all victims are Cambodians.

The death toll from road traffic accidents remains high in the Southeast Asian nation. In the first nine months of 2025, some 1,062 people had been killed in road crashes, and 2,256 others got wounded, according to a government report. ■

Cranes hoist the wreckage of a crashed bus from a river in Kampong Thom province, Cambodia, on Nov. 20, 2025. Thirteen people were killed and 24 others injured after a bus crashed into a bridge's rail and plunged into a river in central Cambodia's Kampong Thom province early Thursday, a local police officer said. (Kampong Thom Provincial Police/Handout via Xinhua)

A truck carries the wreckage of a crashed bus in Kampong Thom province, Cambodia, on Nov. 20, 2025. Thirteen people were killed and 24 others injured after a bus crashed into a bridge's rail and plunged into a river in central Cambodia's Kampong Thom province early Thursday, a local police officer said. (Kampong Thom Provincial Police/Handout via Xinhua)

Cranes hoist the wreckage of a crashed bus from a river in Kampong Thom province, Cambodia, on Nov. 20, 2025. Thirteen people were killed and 24 others injured after a bus crashed into a bridge's rail and plunged into a river in central Cambodia's Kampong Thom province early Thursday, a local police officer said. (Kampong Thom Provincial Police/Handout via Xinhua)