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THE CONFIRMED DEATH toll from a massive fire at a casino hotel complex in western Cambodia has risen to 25 as the search resumed for victims.
The blaze at the Grand Diamond City casino and hotel in the town of Poipet on the Thai border started around midnight on Wednesday and was extinguished more than 12 hours later yesterday afternoon.
By this morning, 25 bodies had been recovered from the site, according to Sek Sokhom, head of Banteay Meanchey province’s information department. He said six bodies were found this morning, some in their rooms and others on stairways.
More than 60 people were injured, he said, and the death toll was expected to rise once rescuers are able to access victims who are believed to be under debris or in locked rooms.
The Grand Diamond City casino complex has 500 employees, and it had 1,000 customers on Wednesday, according to a report from Soth Kimkolmony, a spokesperson for Cambodia’s National Committee for Disaster Management. It was unclear how many were present when the fire broke out, and how many managed to flee to safety.
An accurate toll of the casualties has been hard to obtain since many of those saved were rushed across the border for treatment in neighbouring Thailand, which has better medical facilities.
Thai and Cambodian rescue teams have been working side by side in searching the 17-story complex, but paused their efforts overnight at the dangerously damaged site.
Many of those inside, both customers and staff, were from neighbouring Thailand, which sent firetrucks and emergency workers to help.
Thailand’s Sa Kaeo Provincial Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office has counted 11 dead — all Thai — and 109 injured, including 57 in hospitals.
An initial investigation found that the fire may have been caused by New Year’s holiday decorations that drew too much electricity, causing wires to overheat and burn, local authorities said.
Khmer Times, a Cambodian English-language news website, quoted Poipet city governor Keat Hul describing the chaos when the fire broke out.
“Hotel and casino workers used fire extinguishers to stop the fire but to no avail. People were panicking and rushing about everywhere but mainly for the nearest exit,” he said. “I was told that there was a stampede out at the main entrance when black smoke was billowing through the building.”
He was quoted saying he believed many of the deaths came from smoke inhalation and some people died when they leapt from higher levels to escape the flames.
Poipet in western Cambodia is a site of busy cross-border trade and tourism opposite the city of Aranyaprathet in more affluent Thailand.
Casinos are illegal in Thailand. Many Thais visit neighbouring countries such as Cambodia — a popular tourist destination with convenient international connections — to gamble. Poipet has more than a dozen casinos.
The Grand Diamond City casino is just a short walk from the border checkpoint with Thailand and popular with customers who make the four-hour drive from the Thai capital, Bangkok.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen made his first public comments on the tragedy in remarks to villagers this morning at a road repair ceremony in the southern province of Kampot.
He expressed his condolences and said the incident showed that all tall buildings in the country must have sufficient equipment to fight fires. He also gave thanks to all the people who worked in the rescue effort, including those from Thailand.
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Almost twice the numbers dying from suicide as die on the roads. This is at national crisis level at this stage and needs to be tackled with the same amount of resources that have been put at the disposal of the road safety campaigns.
I have to agree. This is a national emergency.
Every life lost is a tragedy.
No surprise here. One other issue is that you cannot even do voluntary work because you’ll lose your social welfare if you do as “you are not available for interview or to take up full time employment”. Just goes to show the idiocy of the Political Institutions / Department Of Social Welfare. If you were doing voluntary work and living on the €188 a week, would you continue to that if offered a full time job? I know that if I was called to an interview I would tell the voluntary organisation that I cannot make it in as I have an interview and if I got the job I would take it and leave the voluntary work.
Voluntary work will help keep people sane and motivated to look for work, otherwise people will stay at home get demoralised and think what’s the point in even looking for a job. People think that there are a lot of people are on welfare because they “like it”. RUBBISH! I’d like the politicians to live on social welfare benefits for a month and to carry out all the strings that go with it and then justify how they can say it is a “comfortable lifestyle”
There is a form to complete, and if approved ie a reputable voluntary organisation is essential, you can do voluntary work – I do :).
Voluntary work is just that and if you volunteer and at the start explain if an interview comes up you are attending then that is appreciated and understood. And your skills will be much appreciated and you will keep your work skills up to date, motivate yourself and give back to the community – go for it CSEC Bio? If you want to volunteer for Sea Shepherd just let me know, happy to have you on board.
who on earth keeps thumbing comments down?. if I find out who they are they will be terminated.
Just ignore them.
Even if every banker & politician was made to read that report I wonder just how much they would really care. Peoples lives seem to matter less and less.
I personally know of 5 individuals, young men, who were in construction and were caught where they owed the supplier for materials and the developers refused to pay them anything, they were left with massive bills and lost of pressure from the suppliers. The individuals could not take legal action against the developers because of this NAMA thing ! and every one of the individuals took their own lives, leaving young families, parents, siblings, wives, girlfriends, friends, neightbours and community devestated.
And the Government has just cut spending on Suicide assistance ? WHY ?
sad the people at the top never cared never did nor never will i highllighted this last week in the lenihan article and in it lies some of their decision making bullshit for the ordinary people how much more can a race of people take without revolting something got to give
Lenihan gets a Kings funeral while those driven to suicide rarely even get a mention in the media. Its a tragedy.
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