At least 10 feared dead in Poipet casino inferno as people jump from 5th floor
Firefighters are struggling to control a huge blaze that broke out at the Grand Diamond City Hotel and Casino in Poipet on the Thai-Cambodian border at 11pm on Wednesday.
Unconfirmed reports say 10 people have died at the scene so far after victims were seen jumping from the fifth floor of the blazing building.
The Thai-owned casino is located about 200 metres over the border from the Ban Klong Luk checkpoint in Sa Kaew’s Aranyaprathet District. Thai employees and gamblers were inside the premises when the fire started.
Cambodian authorities asked Thai firefighting units to send firetrucks with booms and hoses to quell the flames so that dozens of people trapped in the building could be evacuated.
By 5am on Thursday, the casino blaze had expanded to engulf the bridge connecting the hotel to the main road. Officials evacuated people from the nearby area and declared a no-entry zone.
There were no official reports of deaths or injuries as of 9am on Thursday, but hospitals in nearby Aranyaprathet and Kasem Rat have reported an influx of casualties from the blaze.
