Cooker explodes killing six

A large pressure cooker used for making noodles exploded in Cambodia, killing six people and injuring 17 others, police and witnesses said.

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

He said the shop's owners - Chea Pheng, 52, and his wife Lim Kieng, 46 - and two of their employees died instantly in the early morning blast.

A chunk of the cooker's chimney, about 1m long, landed through the zinc roof of a nearby laundry shop.

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.