Death toll rises to 19 in Cambodia hotel-casino fire

PHNOM PENH: At least 19 people have died in a massive fire that engulfed a hotel-casino in northwest Cambodia's Banteay Meanchey province, officials said late on Thursday.

"In a preliminary report, 19 people have been pronounced dead in the blaze, and some more victims are probably still missing in the charred building, as search operation is still going on," Sek Sokhom, director of the Banteay Meanchey provincial information department, told Xinhua.

According to a provincial police report, besides the dead, 23 people were seriously injured and 50 others sustained minor injuries in the incident.

The report said more than 360 emergency personnel, led by Banteay Meanchey Provincial Police Chief Major General Sithi Loh, joined the rescue operation, using 11 firetrucks to fight the fire.

Neighbouring Thailand has also sent firefighters and firetrucks to help put out the blaze, it added.

"So far, the Cambodian and Thai rescuers are still searching for the remaining victims," the report said.

The blaze broke out at around Wednesday midnight at the Grand Diamond City hotel in Poipet, a city that borders Thailand, the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department said, adding that the cause of the blaze was still under investigation.

A footage posted on the Facebook page of the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department showed some people jumping down to escape the fire as some others were trapped on higher floors.

Soth Kimkolmony, spokesman for the National Committee for Disaster Management, told Xinhua that the identities of the victims were not available yet.

-- BERNAMA