At least 20 people have lost their lives and 100 others have been injured as a result of an intense fire that broke out in a casino hotel in the city of Poipet, in the northwest of Cambodia.
This has been reported in a statement by the Cambodian Department of Information, detailing that the victims were mostly Thai nationals. It also said that the country’s search and rescue operations team continues to search for possible survivors as well as for more dead at the Grand Diamond City Hotel and Casino.
The authorities have stated that the fire occurred as a result of an overload in the electrical circuits, which could have been due to the installation of a multitude of lights for the Christmas and New Year festivities, according to ‘Khmer Times’.
According to witnesses, as a result of the explosion some people jumped into the void. As a result, many of them died or were seriously injured. Meanwhile, another group of people climbed onto the roof of the building and were evacuated with the help of emergency services helicopters.
On the other hand, a group of employees and customers also reportedly had difficulty getting to safety, as the fire spread rapidly from the floors below, blocking the exit, reports ‘Kohsant Epheah Daily’.
«A sustained effort has been employed for many hours by our brave officers and their Thai counterparts to bring this horrendous inferno under control,» Poipet Police Chief Prum Piseth has stressed to Cambodian daily ‘The Phnom Penh Post’.
«This has been the biggest fire ever experienced by the province, or even the whole kingdom, as far as I know, with almost a hundred casualties so far», between dead and injured», said the officer.
Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Samdech Krala Hom Sar and Deputy Prime Minister Ke Kim Yam have been on the scene.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
