The blaze at a casino complex in Cambodian hadronized by fire and emergency personnel: Twenty-five people killed and 60 injured
At least 19 people died and 60 were injured when a massive fire broke out at a hotel casino in Cambodia. Thailand sent emergency workers and firetrucks to help with the crisis in Poipet.
The death toll was expected to rise because rescue teams could not immediately reach some victims who were believed to still be under debris, said Sokhom. He said that more than 60 people were injured.
The dead and injured comprised people of several nationalities, including Thai, Chinese, Malaysian, Vietnamese and Cambodian, he said. The local temple was being used to receive the bodies.
Videos posted on social media showed people falling from a roof after they were trapped by the fire at the Grand Diamond City casino and hotel in the town of Poipet. Many of those inside, both customers and staff, were from neighboring Thailand.
The Department of Fire Prevention, Extinguishing and Rescue posted that calls for help were heard from the 13th, 14th and 15th floors at 4 a.m. and hands were seen waving from windows as well as a mobile phone’s flashlight signaling from inside the complex.
“The fire was massive, and was inside the casino, so it was difficult for our water cannons to reach it,” observed a firefighter on the video posted online by the fire department. He said that was the reason the fire continued burning for such a long time.
The blaze, which started around midnight Wednesday, was finally put out at 2 p.m. Thursday, said Sek Sokhom, adding that the rescue operation was continuing.
New Year’s decorations may have caused the fire by overloading the wires, causing them to catch fire and explode, according to an initial investigation.
Banteay Meanchey police chief Sithi Loh said earlier that 360 emergency personnel and 11 firetrucks had been sent to the scene of the fire, whose cause was not yet known.
“At this point, we are trying to get the dead bodies out of the building.” I don’t believe that there will be survivors because of the thick smoke. Even we all (the rescue staff) have to wear proper gear when we go inside the building, otherwise we cannot breathe at all,” Montri Khaosa-ard, a staff member of Thailand Ruamkatanyu Foundation, a social welfare organization that sends volunteers to disaster scenes, said Thursday afternoon.
The blaze at the Grand Diamond City Hotel and Casino in Poipet, Cambodia, says Cambodian National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM)
Poipet is a transport hub between Cambodia and Thailand where you can find multiple casinos and many Thais who work in the gambling industry. Most forms of gambling are illegal in Thailand, so many Thais gamble legally across the border.
The Cambodian National Committee for Disaster Management has received a report that said the Grand Diamond City casino complex had 1,000 customers on Wednesday. It was unclear how many were present when the fire broke out.
The casino is just a few yards from the border checkpoint with Thailand and popular with customers who make the four-hour drive from the Thai capital, Bangkok.
The death toll from the fire at the Grand Diamond City Hotel and Casino in Poipet is expected to go up, as rescuers look for people who were trapped in the building, a Banteay Meanchey province spokesman said.
Thai rescue workers who responded to emergency calls from Cambodian authorities said some victims had jumped to their deaths from the burning building in a frantic attempt to escape.
“Two people died immediately when they hit the ground and around four to five (others) broke their legs,” said Peerapan Srisakorn, from the Aranyaprathet Rescue Foundation.
Peerapan told CNN his team alone saw 11 bodies, including seven who had died from smoke inhalation and were found in locked hotel rooms, and said it was very difficult for rescue workers to survey the building as it was full of thick smoke.
Sokhom said the hotel used an electric system for rooms and elevators, so when the fire started and the building lost electricity, many people were stuck in their rooms and could not escape.
The cause of the fire is not yet known and the hotel has a narrow and elevated layout. it difficult to fully assess the status of the blaze, he said.
The fires at Poh Teck Tug Foundation and Aranyaprathet Rescue Foundation: “We don’t have a rescue crane”
Rescue teams were asked to suspend operations on Thursday evening, according to Somboon Kwan-uam, a member of the Thai rescue team, Poh Teck Tug Foundation.
Somboon told CNN that he wasn’t seeing any fire at the hotel and casino but the thick smoke still flowed from the building. The Poh Teck Tug Foundation will resume operations on Friday morning, when some of the victims’ bodies are expected to be brought back to Thailand.
Peerapan, from the Aranyaprathet Rescue Foundation, earlier told CNN he suspected the fire started at a lower floor restaurant before spreading to other parts of the compound. “Some people ran to the rooftop, (thinking) that the Cambodians might have a rescue crane to help – but they didn’t have one,” he said.