At least 19 dead in Grand Diamond City hotel-casino fire in Cambodia
Harrowing pictures reveal victims jumping from buildings in a frantic attempt to escape a horrific hotel-casino fire in Cambodia at a popular holiday destination. Warning: Graphic
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At least 19 people have been killed and many others are feared dead in a fire at a Cambodian casino, which saw some victims hurling themselves out of the building in a desperate bid to escape the flames.
The blaze at the Grand Diamond City hotel-casino in Poipet in Cambodia’s northwest, within view of the Thai border, broke out late on Wednesday night.
“There are 19 dead so far as we see bodies and bones,” Sek Sokhom, director of Cambodia’s Banteay Meanchey provincial information department, said.
He warned the figure “could be higher” because rescuers have not yet reached parts of the complex.
A volunteer with Thai rescue group Ruamkatanyu Foundation, who wished to remain anonymous, said his team arrived at around 2am local time and saw people jump from the building.
“I witnessed people running out of the building to escape from the smoke,” he said.
Others packed onto a rooftop to avoid the flames.
“Then we saw some people jumping down,” the volunteer said.
‘WE SAW PEOPLE JUMPING’
Video showed the building consumed by flames, with firefighters struggling to contain the blaze and rescuers attempting to pluck people from a burning ledge.
In one clip, an unidentified man is seen sitting on a window ledge as smoke billows out from behind him. In another, a group of people huddle on a ledge as flames draw near.
“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.
Mr Srisakorn told reporters 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.
WATCH: #BNNCambodia Reports.
— Gurbaksh Singh Chahal (@gchahal) December 29, 2022
At least 10 people were killed and 30 others injured in a massive fire at the Grand Diamond City casino-hotel in Poipet, Cambodia on the border of Thailand on Thursday. #Cambodia#Fire#accidentpic.twitter.com/SFutBUaXjr
In a video posted by Cambodia’s firefighting agency, onlookers could be heard pleading for help to rescue people trapped on the roof of the hotel complex. The video showed at least one man falling as the flames reached the roof.
“Oh, please help rescue them. Pump water, pump water!” shouted the onlookers.
The Department of Fire Prevention, Extinguishing and Rescue posted that calls for help were heard from the 13th, 14th and 15th floors at 4am local time and said 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 also a factor which caused the fire to continue burning for some 12 hours.
A Thai foreign ministry source said they had been co-ordinating closely with Cambodian authorities, “including by sending in fire trucks from the Thai side”.
Thai authorities in neighbouring Sa Kaeo province said more than 50 victims had been hospitalised there. Local public health official Prapas Pookduang told AFP 13 of them were “on life support”.
Sa Kaeo Governor Parinya Phothisat said roughly another 60 people caught up in the fire had already been checked and cleared by Thai hospitals.
He said Thai hospitals had treated 79 Thai nationals, 30 Cambodians and eight Indonesians.
The Ruamkatanyu Foundation volunteer said the blaze started on the first floor but spread quickly along carpets, leaping up through the multistorey building.
Naphat Klonkliang, an officer with the foundation, told AFP they had retrieved two bodies.
“The rescue team were struggling in the beginning and the main reason was the smoke,” the officer said.
Around 100 rescuers swarmed the complex throughout the day, some donning heavy protective gear to search the building for survivors.
Rescue crews prepared to stop for the night as evening fell. “Working under these conditions is dangerous,” said Satit Surungsit, 53, from the Thai Poh Teck Tung Foundation rescue group.
HOTEL-CASINO HOTSPOT
Cambodia is one of Southeast Asia’s poorest countries and its citizens are officially barred from gambling in its casinos.
But there are many such hotel-casinos clustered along the Thai border. Poipet is a popular holiday destination for visitors from Thailand, where most forms of gambling are also illegal.
The blaze follows two other fatal incidents in entertainment venues in Thailand and Vietnam this year.
A fire in a Thai nightclub in August killed 26 people and injured scores more. A blaze in a karaoke bar in southern Vietnam killed 32 people the following month.
Concerns have long been raised over the region’s lax approach to health and safety regulations, particularly in its countless bars, nightclubs and other entertainment venues.
– With AFP
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