Poipet, Cambodia (AP) — Greater than 60 folks had been injured and at the very least 19 lifeless in a large hearth at a Cambodian lodge on line casino on Thursday.
The fireplace, which began round midnight Wednesday, was extinguished greater than 12 hours later at 2 p.m. Thursday, mentioned Sek Sokhom, head of the intelligence division of Banteay Meanchey province. He mentioned greater than 60 folks had been injured and the dying toll was anticipated to rise as rescuers had been capable of entry victims who had been nonetheless believed to be below rubble or in locked rooms. .
A video posted on social media reveals folks falling from the roof after being caught in a hearth on the Grand Diamond Metropolis on line casino and lodge within the city of Poipet.
In a video posted by Cambodia’s hearth division, at its highest level, a crowd may very well be heard chanting pleas to rescue these trapped on the roof of a dozen-story lodge complicated. No less than one particular person was seen falling when it reached the roof.
“Oh, assist them. Pump the water, pump the water!” cried the onlookers.
The fireplace division mentioned they heard requires assist from rooms on the thirteenth, 14th and fifteenth flooring at 4 a.m. Waving fingers and even mobile phone flashlights had been seen from home windows contained in the complicated.
“The fireplace was large and inside a on line casino, making it troublesome for water cannons to achieve,” a firefighter mentioned in a video posted on-line by the fireplace division.
Most of the clients and employees inside had been from neighboring Thailand, and hearth engines and paramedics had been dispatched on Thursday to cope with the disaster within the bustling border city.
Sek Sokhom mentioned preliminary analysis discovered that the fireplace might have been attributable to the New Yr’s decorations drawing an excessive amount of energy, inflicting the wires to overheat and burn. He mentioned the lifeless and injured had been made up of individuals from a number of nationalities, together with Thai, Chinese language, Malaysian, Vietnamese and Cambodian.
An area Buddhist temple was used to obtain their our bodies.
The Grand Diamond Metropolis on line casino complicated has 500 workers and had 1,000 clients on Wednesday, mentioned Soth Kimkolmony, a spokesperson for the Cambodian Nationwide Catastrophe Administration Board. It’s unknown how many individuals had been there when the fireplace broke out.
“We’re at present making an attempt to take away the our bodies from the constructing. It’s important to put on it otherwise you will not be capable of breathe in any respect.” Catastrophe scene.
Rescuers from Thailand and Cambodia cooperated in a search of the power on Thursday, however paused search efforts on the dangerously broken web site as night time fell.
Thai PBS, Thailand’s public tv community, reported that fifty Thais, each employees and clients, had been trapped contained in the on line casino complicated. It cited experiences that the emergency ward at Aranyaprathet Hospital on the Thai facet of the border was overcrowded and a few victims needed to be despatched to different hospitals.
Poipet in western Cambodia, reverse the rich Thai metropolis of Aranyaprathet, is a hotspot for cross-border commerce and tourism.
Casinos are unlawful in Thailand. Many Thais go to neighboring nations comparable to Cambodia. Cambodia is a well-liked vacationer vacation spot with handy worldwide connections and playing. Poipet has greater than 10 casinos.
The Grand Diamond Metropolis On line casino is a brief stroll from the Thai border crossing and is in style with visitors who drive 4 hours from Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.
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Related Press reporter Charida Ekvitayavechnukul from Bangkok contributed to this report. Sopheng Cheang reported from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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