POIPET, Cambodia (SONNA) — The search for bodies in the wreckage of a burned-out casino hotel complex in western Cambodia has concluded with 26 people confirmed dead, a senior official said late Friday.
Banteay Meanchey province Governor Um Reatrey told The Associated Press by phone that after 39 hours of rescue and search operations, there were also 57 injured survivors from the Wednesday night fire at the Grand Diamond City casino and hotel in the town of Poipet.
Seventeen of the dead were from Thailand, one each from Nepal, Malaysia and China, and six bodies were yet to be identified, he said.
The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office of Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province, just across the border from Poipet, said there had been 27 deaths — 26 in Cambodia and one in a Thai hospital. It said of the 112 people injured, 27 remained in hospitals and 85 had returned to their homes.
Thailand, which provided firefighting and rescue assistance, was where many of the injured were taken for treatment. Thais made up a large proportion of the guests and employees at the casino complex.
POIPET, Cambodia (AP) — The search for bodies in the wreckage of a burned-out casino hotel complex in western Cambodia has concluded with 26 people confirmed dead, a senior official said late Friday.
Banteay Meanchey province Governor Um Reatrey told The Associated Press by phone that after 39 hours of rescue and search operations, there were also 57 injured survivors from the Wednesday night fire at the Grand Diamond City casino and hotel in the town of Poipet.
Seventeen of the dead were from Thailand, one each from Nepal, Malaysia and China, and six bodies were yet to be identified, he said.
The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office of Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province, just across the border from Poipet, said there had been 27 deaths — 26 in Cambodia and one in a Thai hospital. It said of the 112 people injured, 27 remained in hospitals and 85 had returned to their homes.
Thailand, which provided firefighting and rescue assistance, was where many of the injured were taken for treatment. Thais made up a large proportion of the guests and employees at the casino complex.
The blaze at the Grand Diamond City complex started late Wednesday night and was extinguished more than 12 hours later on Thursday afternoon.
The Grand Diamond City casino complex has 500 employees, and it had 1,000 customers 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.
Many of the injured had been rushed across the border for treatment in neighboring Thailand. That, along with the chaotic rescue efforts, made it difficult to get an accurate toll of the casualties.
Source: AP
