In a fire at a casino in Cambodia, at least 19people died and many more are thought dead. A rescuer reported that the victims
threw themselves off a ledge in a last-ditch effort to escape the flames.
Late on Wednesday night, a fire broke out
inside the Grand Diamond City hotel-casino in Poipet, which is close to the
Thai border. Cambodian police reported the fire.
Sek Sokhom, head of the provincial information
office for Cambodia's Banteay Meanchey province, stated that as of now,
"there are 19 dead as we saw bodies and bones," but cautioned that
"the count could be higher" because rescuers have not yet reached all
areas of the complex.
An unnamed volunteer with the Thai rescue
organisation Ruamkatanyu Foundation claimed that when his team got at the scene
at around 2 am (0730 GMT), they saw people jump from the building.
He remarked, "I saw people racing out of
the building to escape the smoke," and he added that some were crammed
onto a rooftop to stay away from the fire.
Then, he added, "we witnessed some people
jumping down."
Video showed the flaming building,
firefighters battling to put out the fire, and rescuers trying to pull people
off a burning ledge.
A man is shown in one film sitting on a window
sill while smoke pours out from behind him.
According to a source in the Thai foreign
ministry, there had been close coordination with the local law enforcement,
"even by sending in fire trucks from the Thai side."
More than 50 individuals were were reported to
have been hospitalised there by Thai officials in the neighbouring Sa Kaeo
province, with local public health official Prapas Pookduang told AFP that 13
people were "on life support."
A further 60 or so people who were caught up
in the fire, according to Sa Kaeo Governor Parinya Phothisat, had already been
examined and released by Thai hospitals.
Thirty Cambodians, eight Indonesians, and 79
Thai nationals, according to him, were treated at Thai hospitals.
According to a volunteer with the Ruamkatanyu
Foundation, the fire started on the first floor but swiftly jumped up through
the multi-story building along carpets.
Two remains had been
recovered, according to Naphat Klonkliang, an officer with the foundation, who
spoke to AFP. The officer stated that the smoke was the primary cause of the
rescue team's initial struggles
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