A woman packing explosives into homemade fireworks died in a blast in the house she and her husband ran as a pyrotechnics shop on Wednesday.

At the funeral of 67-year-old victim Ek Ny yesterday in Kampong Chhnang province’s Rolea Ba’ier district, her husband Pun Thoeun explained that his wife was putting explosive materials into paper tubes when the incident happened.

“I was not nearby when the explosion happened, but I ran to the explosion site and saw that my wife was outside the house with her bloody body. I rushed and embraced her, but she had died already,” he said.

Thoeun added that he buys the materials, such as sulphur and gunpowder, along National Road 3 in Kampong Speu province.

Rolea Ba’ier district police chief Toem Chanthy said an inspection revealed the victim’s home to be a fireworks store, but the cause of the explosion remains uncertain.

“I concluded that she made the fireworks with the wrong technique and the preparation of fireworks was careless. It is the dry season and it is very hot … the explosion might be caused by improper packing,” he said.