In Cambodia, the fire at a hotel casino in Poipet took a heavy toll. At least 19 people died in this tragedy in this city on the border with Thailand on Wednesday night, according to the Cambodian police.
The fire, which broke out around 11:30 p.m. at the Grand Diamond City Hotel and Casino, left “about ten dead and thirty injured,” according to a preliminary police report. Images posted on social networks showed the imposing complex devastated by flames.
The presence of carpets started the fire
The injured were taken to hospitals in Thailand’s neighboring Sa Kaeo province, a source told the Thai Foreign Ministry. “Authorities tried to control the fire, particularly with the help of fire engines from Thailand,” the source said. A member of a Thai rescue team also said the fire spread quickly in the multi-story casino hotel due to the presence of carpets.
Around 400 people work in Grand Diamond City, Cambodian police said. According to local media, foreign citizens were in the building when the fire broke out.
Last deadly fires in the region
Many casinos have settled in Poipet where Thai customers flock to gamble legally as casinos are banned in Thailand. In recent months, several deadly fires have erupted in nightspots across Southeast Asia, which are regularly suspected of failing to observe basic safety rules. In August, a fire at a nightclub near Pattaya, Thailand, killed 26 people, mostly young locals who had come to party.