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CambodiaDeadly hotel fire blamed on electrical fault
An electrical short-circuit caused a fire in a casino hotel that killed 26 people in Cambodia. The authorities deplored the configuration of the building which delayed relief.
The resort on December 30, 2022.
AFP
The fire broke out Wednesday evening around 11:30 p.m. (6:30 a.m. in Switzerland) in the Grand Diamond City casino hotel in Poipet, a Cambodian city bordering Thailand.
The flames quickly spread and several people were forced to jump from their windows and balconies to escape them, according to videos posted on the internet and testimonies of rescuers.
“The accident was caused by an electrical short circuit,” Kun Kim, vice chairman of the National Committee for Disaster Management, said Saturday, confirming the death of 26 people, including 17 Thais, a Malaysian and a man. Nepalese.
“Some died from burns, others from lack of oxygen, others were burned and died trying to get out”, he added, lamenting the delay taken by the firefighters to control the fire due to the lack of equipment and the configuration of the hotel complex.
The search has stopped
A Thai casino employee, Neung, 42, said his father died in a hotel room following helping two women escape. “He devoted a lot of energy to helping them and he died of suffocation,” he told AFP. “Now I would just like to get his body back.”
The search for bodies ceased on Friday evening as rescuers inspected the entire building, Kun Kim added. The Cambodian emergency services received help from their Thai counterparts who came from across the nearby border, and who took care of many wounded.
According to Thai authorities, more than 50 people have been hospitalized, 13 of whom were in critical condition as of Friday evening.
(AFP)