5 Cambodian schoolgirls killed as a bus skids off a road into a pond

KHSACH KANDAL, Cambodia (AP) — Five girls died on Tuesday morning in Cambodia when a bus taking them to school veered off the road and plunged into a deep pond, police said.

The crash took place in Kandal province, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the capital, Phnom Penh, said a statement posted on Facebook by the provincial police. It said witnesses reported that a motorcycle suddenly crossed in front of the fast-moving bus, causing its driver to slam on the brakes and making the vehicle skid into the roadside water.

Video posted on social media showed the bus sank just a few feet from shore, but deep enough to make escape very difficult, even with assistance from villagers who rushed to try to pull the children out. The rescuers performed CPR on some of the children they extricated, said Sun Kunthy, one of those who rushed to help.

It said 26 students, aged 12 to 14, were on the bus. In addition to the five who died, three others were in critical condition and 18 were lightly injured.

Police detained the 31-year-old driver for questioning.

Nov Sokhon, chief traffic police of Khsach Kandal district, said all five girls died by drowning. He added that the death toll could have been even higher if the local residents had not rescued them in time.

According to a report by the National Police released in early November, traffic accidents across Cambodia killed more than 1,300 people in the first 10 months of this year.

A separate report from the Transport Ministry said that 1,467 people were killed in traffic accidents in 2025, making it by far the leading cause of accidental deaths in the Southeast Asian nation.

In May this year, two accidents in a single day killed at least 14 garment factory workers and injured 79 others, mostly women. They were on flatbed trucks, the usual method of transportation available for workers. The vehicles often lack seats or benches, forcing passengers to stand and significantly increasing the risk of injury or death in a crash.

Local police officers work the scene of a school bus accident in Anlong village, Khsach Kandal district, Kandal province, northeastern Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Local students and villagers gather near the site of a school bus accident in Anlong village, Khsach Kandal district, Kandal province, northeastern Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A man walks as students gather at the site of a school bus accident in Anlong village, Khsach Kandal district, Kandal province, northeastern Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Local police officers work the scene of a school bus accident in Anlong village, Khsach Kandal district, Kandal province, northeastern Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Relatives of the accident victims gather to perform the ritual of summoning the soul of the deceased after a school bus accident in Anlong village, Khsach Kandal district, Kandal province, northeastern Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A high court in Malaysia on Tuesday cleared all legal hurdles for the transfer of imprisoned former Prime Minister Najib Razak to his home to serve the remainder of his graft sentence under house arrest, his lawyer said.

Najib has been behind bars since August 2022, when the Kuala Lumpur High Court upheld his graft conviction linked to a multibillion-dollar looting of the state investment fund 1MDB. In September, Najib was granted royal clemency, allowing him to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest once he pays a court-imposed fine.

Last Friday, he left prison after his political party paid the 50 million ringgit ($12.3 million) fine but he was brought back hours later after the attorney general blocked the transfer, seeking legal clarifications.

The attorney general's request sparked a public rebuke from the palace, which said that King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar’s prerogative of pardon for Najib that allowed the house arrest was clear and must be respected. It said any attempts to challenge it would amount to defying the royal order.

Najib's lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said Tuesday all was settled for the former prime minister's transfer to house arrest at his Kuala Lumpur home, where he is to remain until Aug. 23, 2028.

Najib appeared in court on Tuesday; the transfer was expected to take place later in the day. Police later sealed off the road leading to his home.

“It’s a final relief, you know, great sigh to him because he has been waiting for this,” the lawyer said.

The house arrest covers only Najib's reduced, six-year sentence in his first trial for graft and not a separate, 15-year sentence handed down last December for corruption and money laundering. That sentence followed a second major trial tied to the 1MDB scandal.

Najib is also appealing that sentence, which he is to serve after the end of his first sentence. If his appeal fails, he could return to prison after his house arrest ends.

Najib, who served as prime minister from 2009 to 2018, has denied any wrongdoing. He is Malaysia’s first former leader to be imprisoned under a sentence related to the 1MDB scandal. It marked one of the world’s largest financial scandals, rippling across global markets and triggering investigations in the United States and other countries.

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, escorted by prison officers, arrives at the Kuala Lumpur High Court complex in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, escorted by prison officers, arrives at the Kuala Lumpur High Court complex in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, escorted by prison officers, arrives at the Kuala Lumpur High Court complex in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)