Cambodian Casino Hearth Reportedly Slay 19, others Fear Death
In a Cambodian hamlet near the Thai border, a casino-hotel complex caught fire, killing at least 19 people, many of them Thai, and leaving up to 30 people missing, according to officials on Thursday.
When the fire started about midnight, there were 400 personnel and guests inside the Grand Diamond City casino and hotel in Poipet. By Thursday afternoon, the structure was completely destroyed.
According to Cambodian authorities, hundreds of military, police, and volunteer rescuers had joined the operation, which had been paused at dusk because there was a chance the structure would collapse.
The head of the provincial information office for Banteay Meanchey, Sek Sokhom, said that there could be more than 20 fatalities and 60 injuries. He stated a commission has been formed by the Cambodian government to look into the fire’s unidentified cause.
Casinos in the country’s capital, Phnom Penh, as well as those near the borders with Vietnam and Thailand are a major source of tourists from Asian countries where gambling is prohibited.
Since gambling is prohibited over the border and unlicensed casinos run clandestinely there, those in Poipet are extremely popular with short-term Thai visitors. Rescuers reported that several of the victims were Thai nationals.
“As evidenced by their IDs, the deceased that we discovered were Thai. Now that the bodies must be recognized, “Somboon Kwanoum, a 53-year-old rescuer, stated.
A crew in the building’s fire escape stairs was seen in video footage putting on respirator masks and fire-resistant hoods before entering a smoke-filled corridor on Thursday afternoon, when the fire had been put out.
According to 40-year-old Punnawat Promsri, a Thai cousin perished while attempting to assist two women in escaping the fire.
“Max stayed behind to assist a pregnant woman and one other woman in escaping, “She spoke to Reuters. “I believe it was him because of what I saw on a video. His hold on a rope that was fastened to a fire basket broke. He wasn’t killed by fire or smoke.
According to Reuters witnesses and video shown on local television, crowds of onlookers had gathered close during the day and ambulances had been rushing to and from the scene as people were being retrieved from the smoldering rubble of the building.
One Thai resident passed away in a hospital, and 70% of those affected exhibited symptoms of smoke inhalation, according to Thai provincial authorities from the province of Sa Kaeo, which is over the border from Thailand.
REUTERS
