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Agence France-Presse

A Cambodian prince and former prime minister was injured and his wife killed in a head-on collision on a highway in the country’s southwest on Sunday, officials said.
Prince Norodom Ranariddh and his wife Ouk Phalla were rushed to hospital after a taxi travelling in the other direction slammed into their motorcade in Preah Sihanouk province.
Phalla died in a nearby facility while Ranariddh, the head of the royalist Funcinpec party, was flown to a hospital in Phnom Penh.

The death of Phalla is the loss of “a national hero for the Funcinpec party”, a posting on Ranariddh’s official Facebook page said hours later.
A party member confirmed the wife’s death but said Ranariddh, 74, was expected to recover.
The accident happened Sunday morning when a taxi carrying several passengers crashed into the convoy carrying the couple and supporters.
A report on the national police website showed badly damaged cars and victims on the roadside. Seven people were initially reported injured.
Ranariddh was travelling from the riverside town of Kampot to Preah Sihanouk as part of campaigning for controversial national elections set for July 29.
Funcinpec is taking part despite widespread complaints that the poll will be neither free nor fair after the main opposition group, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was banned late last year.
Hun Sen, the prime minister who has been in power for 33 years, has crushed dissent leading up to the election, ensuring an expected resounding victory for his ruling Cambodian People’s Party.

Ranariddh, the half-brother of Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihamoni and son of the late monarch Norodom Sihanouk, has had a fraught relationship with Hun Sen.
The prince served jointly with Hun Sen as prime minister from 1993 to 1997, when he was toppled in a bloody coup led by forces loyal to the strongman.
He never again reached the same level of popularity and was ejected from Funcinpec almost a decade ago, only to return to it in 2015 after several attempted forays back into politics.
In recent years he has reconciled with his former foe as part of a political comeback, and was granted one of the CNRP’s parliamentary seats after they were redistributed.
Road accidents are a leading cause of death in Cambodia, where rules are weakly enforced. Motorways also lack dividers while speed limits are often ignored.
In 2015 Ranariddh was slightly injured when his car was hit by a truck.


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Cambodia

Cambodian prince’s wife dies in head-on car crash

Cambodia’s Prince Norodom Ranariddh’s mangled car outside Sihanoukville, Cambodia, on Sunday, June 17, 2018. Photo: AP

FILE- In this Nov. 28, 2018, file photo, Prince Norodom Ranariddh enters to the National Assembly, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Ranariddh has been seriously injured in a road crash that killed his wife and injured at least seven other people, early Sunday. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith, File)

Ouk Phalla; wife of Cambodia's Prince Norodom Ranariddh (L), president of the Norodom Ranariddh Party (NRP).

Cambodia's political prince Norodom Ranariddh submits to strongman Hun Sen as opposition crumbles

Opposition says Prince Norodom Ranariddh helps deprive Cambodians of choice

HKG60-19970706-PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA: (Files) A 01 August 1993 file photo shows co-prime ministers Norodom Ranariddh (L) and Hun Sen (R) laughing after a river trip to Kompong Cham. Heavy gunfire rocked Phnom Penh 06 July as forces loyal to the rival prime ministers battled in a second day of unrest. Ranariddh's loyalist FUNCINPEC party accused Hun Sen of mounting a coup d'etat, while Hun Sen said Ranariddh was destabilising the country by bringing unauthorised weapons and troops into the Phnom Penh area. AFP PHOTO/Doug NIVEN AFP PHOTO AFP FILES/DOUG NIVEN/mn

epa06184767 Cambodia's opposition leader Kem Sokha, 64, is detained during a police ride at his home in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 03 September 2017 (issued 05 September 2017). A court in Phnom Pehn on 05 September 2017, has formally charged him with treason and espionage over an alleged plot with unnamed foreigners. If found guilty, he could face up to 30 years in jail. EPA-EFE/STRINGER -- BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE -- ALTERNATIVE CROP

FILE - In this Aug. 23, 2017 file photo, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen gestures during his visit to Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Hun Sen said Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017 he will retaliate against a U.S. halt on the issuing of most visas to senior foreign ministry officials and their families by suspending missions by U.S. military-led teams searching for the remains of Americans missing in action from the Vietnam War. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith, File)

Prince Norodom Ranariddh: ‘We are definitely not an opposition party but we don’t always, always, always say ‘yes, yes, yes, yes, yes’. We can say ‘no’. Photo: Reuters

Cambodia’s Prince Ranariddh to return as president of his old political party

Cambodia's Prince Norodom Ranariddh pictured in Phnom Penh in March, 2014. Photo: Xinhua

Prince Ranariddh announces his return to politics in Cambodia

Prince Norodom Ranariddh once served as the prime minister.

Phorn Phalla (front) with Jerry Wong.Photo: Nora Tam

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Prince Ranariddh is the second son of the late monarch Norodom Sihanouk and a half-brother of the current king, Norodom Siham


Prince Ranariddh is the second son of the late monarch Norodom Sihanouk and a half-brother of the current king, Norodom Siham.


Cambodian prince’s wife dies in head-on car crash

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Prince Ranariddh is the second son of the late monarch Norodom Sihanouk and a half-brother of the current king, Norodom Siham

Prince Ranariddh is the second son of the late monarch Norodom Sihanouk and a half-brother of the current king, Norodom Siham