Asics Sneakers Factory Ceiling Collapses, 2 Workers Killed

A Cambodian factory that manufacturers Asics sneakers collapsed on Thursday, killing two workers and injuring seven others.

Nearly 50 workers were inside the factory located in the capital of Phnom Penh when a ceiling collapsed and heavy iron equipment stored on the floor above fell to the floor below.

Rescuers spent several hours combing through the rubble in search of other possible survivors.

The factory is owned by Wing Star. Shoes from the factory are produced for sale in the United States and Europe.

The Wing Star factory opened just one year ago and consists of several different manufacturing facilities. The roof collapsed inside a storage warehouse that is used primarily to store shoe-production equipment. According to factory officials, workers were inside a small workspace inside the storage building.

The roof collapse appears to have been caused because of the heavy iron equipment held on the floor above.

Nearly 500,000 people work in the garment industry throughout Cambodia. Garment exports are the countries largest money earner with nearly $4 billion worth of exports shipped to the United States and Europe annually.

This is the second building collapse in the garment industry in recent weeks. Just three weeks ago, a building collapsed in Bangladesh and killed 1,127 people. The Bangladesh collapse is the worst in the history of the global garment industry.

Further details about the Asics sneakers factory collapse have not been made public at this time.

More information to follow as details about the accident are revealed and Asics makes a its first public statement.