PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Three members of an extremist Cambodian Buddhist cult burned themselves to death in bath-tubs filled with gasoline and three others suffered injuries in a botched group suicide, officials said on Tuesday.
The two nuns and a monk, who died on Sunday at the centuries-old Wat Thmar Sar pagoda in the eastern province of Prey Veng, left suicide notes expressing their belief that ritual suicide was the only way to enter heaven.
"They poured 60 liters of gasoline into bath-tubs, sat in them and then set fire to them. We could not save their lives," local police chief Chhim Sakhon told Reuters.
"I've never heard of this happening before in Cambodia."
Three other monks in the same pagoda, known for its strict meditation techniques, also tried to commit suicide by stabbing themselves in the chest, but were rescued before they could succeed.
The police chief quoted suicide notes left behind by the victims saying: "Please, people, do not laugh at us. We committed suicide in the interest of God."
The mother -- herself a nun -- of the one monk who died was seen kneeling down and worshipping in front of her blazing son, saying "God bless you," Chhim Sakhon added.
Provincial authorities said they were seeking to arrest a senior cult member, who led the group in its mass suicide bid but failed to go through with the act himself and fled the temple.
"The ringleader was smart, he didn't do it," said Chhim Sakhon.