Cambodia speeds up demolition of burned down Poipet casino

The Thai-owned property on the Cambodian side of the Ban Kong Luk checkpoint in Sa Kaew’s Aranyaprathet district went up in flames at around 11pm on December 28.

Hundreds of people are believed to have been injured or killed and, so far 27 bodies of Thai nationals have been transported to Thailand as of December 30.

Officials in Sa Kaew province said Ngor Mengchroun, deputy governor of Bantaey Meanchey, led Cambodian officials to remove properties from the wreckage, especially the seven lockers containing Thai baht in cash.

“Cambodian authorities have also vowed to help hunt for the missing victims,” the officials said.

The Cambodian authorities have reportedly kicked off the operation of dismantling the hotel and casino by blocking all routes to the site. They plan to first

bring down the bridge linking two buildings in the complex to ensure the area is cleared as soon as possible, officials said.

Officials also expect the Ban Klong Luk checkpoint to be reopened once the demolition is complete.

Related stories:

• 27 Thais killed in Poipet casino fire ready for retrieval
• Ten Thai victims of Poipet blaze ready for relatives to retrieve
• Foreign Ministry working to identify, retrieve bodies from Poipet casino blaze