Cambodian prince injured, wife killed in road crash

Phnom Penh: 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 Phnom Penh for further treatment.

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. Details of his injuries were not immediately available.

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.