A rescue team searches for victims in a burned out part of the Grand Diamond City hotel-casino following a major fire at the complex in Poipet on December 30, 2022. Death toll at the tragedy has been set at 27. - AFP
PHNOM PENH/BANGKOK, Jan 2 (dpa): Four days after the devastating fire that engulfed a high-end casino hotel in north-western Cambodia, near the Thai border, the rescue services ended their search for further victims, according to media reports.
A total of 27 people were killed in the blaze that broke out in the 17-storey Grand Diamond City Hotel and Casino in Poipet late on Wednesday night, the Khmer Times reported on Monday, citing a spokesperson for the disaster protection agency.
Among the dead were 17 guests from Thailand, as well Malaysian, Nepali and Chinese nationals, he said.
Many of the victims died of smoke inhalation or injuries sustained when they jumped out of the burning building.
"We have not been able to identify seven bodies," the spokesperson said. More than 100 people were injured in the fire. It was now being investigated "who should be held responsible," the governor of Banteay Meachey province, Oum Reatrey, was quoted as saying in the report.
One potential reason that could have caused the fire is a short circuit, as the hotel had been heavily decorated with lights for the Christmas and New Year's holidays, according to a spokesperson for the authorities.
It took firefighters 39 hours to extinguish the blaze, Reatrey said. More than 1,200 emergency forces from Cambodia and Thailand as well as several helicopters had been deployed to the scene. - dpa
