At least 10 dead after fire rips through Cambodia hotel-casino | News

The blaze started on the first floor and spread quickly along carpets before engulfing the multi-storey complex.

At least 10 people are believed dead after a fire tore through a hotel and casino in the Cambodian border town of Poipet, police said.

A provisional Cambodian police report seen by Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Thursday said the fire broke out at the Grand Diamond City hotel-casino in Poipet city, on the border with Thailand, at approximately 11:30pm local time (16:30 GMT) on Wednesday.

The report stated that “about 10 people died and 30 people injured”.

Local media cited officials in Poipet – located 400km (250 miles) northwest of the capital Phnom Penh – saying that “more than 10 people” had died and more than 30 were injured in the blaze at the casino, which is popular with gamblers and visitors from nearby Thailand.

Nhem Phoeng, chief of administration at Poipet’s municipal offices, said the fire, which had been extinguished by Thursday morning, killed mostly Cambodian and Thai employees at the casino, according to the Phnom Penh Post news site.

The injured were transported to hospitals in Thailand’s neighbouring Aranyaprathet city in Sa Kaeo province.

Video clips shared on social media showed the sprawling building engulfed in flames and what appeared to be people jumping from the burning structure.

UPDATE: According to the mayor of Aranyaprathet, the fire at the casino in neighboring Poi Pet in Cambodia is under control, roughly 9 hours after it broke out. The number of casualties is still not officially confirmed.

— Saksith Saiyasombut (@SaksithCNA) December 29, 2022

A Thai foreign ministry source said they were coordinating closely with local authorities and that firefighting vehicles and emergency workers had been sent from Thailand to tackle the blaze.

A volunteer with the Thai rescue group, Ruamkatanyu Foundation, said the blaze started on the first floor but spread quickly along the carpets, leaping up through the multi-storey building.

The Grand Diamond City is one of a number of casino-hotels clustered along the Thai-Cambodian border.