Cambodia News, (Phnom Penh): The fire that broke out at an entertainment club last night, on July 1, 2023, in Khan Toul Kork, Phnom Penh has claimed a total of eight lives, after police searched the room and found the bodies of two more victims this morning, one girl and one boy, increasing the death toll in the fire from six to eight.


For the moment, a police spokesperson has identified the bodies found at the scene only as five* Chinese nationals and a Cambodian interpreter, five men and three women.
The cause of the fire at the scene is still unknown, while the authorities are still investigating.


* A later report says that seven of the eight victims were Chinese.

Cambodia Breaking News, (Phnom Penh): Latest news reports say that the building which caught fire and caused the death of eight people was not open as a nightclub and had been closed for repairs when the fire broke out.

The former entertainment club along Street 206 in Sangkat Phsar Depot 1, Khan Toul Kork was on fire for a long time, from around 5:10 pm on July 1, lasting until almost 9pm, while the eight people who were trapped in the building suffocated to death inside.



Brigadier General San Sok Seiha, spokesman for the Phnom Penh Municipal Police,that the building that caught fire was formerly a garment factory, then became a karaoke shop and entertainment club. After it was closed, it was bought by a Chinese man, it is alleged that he secretly let Chinese clients use the building as an illegal nightclub. In the past, the location has been visited twice by the local police force, but local people say that the top of the building was still being used as a clandestine bar and club by the Chinese.


As for the eight victims who lost their lives, the police said there are five Chinese men, one Khmer woman, one transgender Vietnamese and one unidentified body:
1. HUNG SHUN, male, 46 years old, Chinese ,
2-YANG LINTAO, male, 32 years old, Chinese,
3-WEN CHANGSHENG, male, 23 years old, Chinese,
4-OUYANG SHANGSONG, male Male, 27 years old, Chinese,
5- CHEN JINRAN, male, 30 years old, Chinese,
6- Ung Reachsey, female, 24 years old, Nationality Khmer (translator) living at Tonle Bassac, Khan Chamkarmon,
7- TRAN NGOCTAN, transgender, 28 years old, Vietnamese,
8- Unidentified yet.

According to information from people who were at the scene, before the incident, they saw a fire burning from the top floor and called the police. Police immediately ordered fire trucks to intervene immediately, but due to the location, structure, and height of the building they could not gain access to the fire quickly enough, causing the people inside to be trapped and suffocated by the smoke.

The fire, which was extinguished at about 8:30 p.m, is suspected to have been caused by an electric fault. Some say the carpenters had left piles of wood shavings at the work site which contributed to the fire
The authorities are still conducting further research.
RIP.

Another windowless death trap.

Anchor Moy wrote: ↑Sun Jul 02, 2023 10:55 pm Do you think this could be the same building 3 years ago ? In 2020, it was a Chinese KTV and there was a big drug raid - 93 arrests - and it got closed down: newsworthy/arrests-massive-ktv-drug-rai ... 40166.html
2020

2023

I don't know for sure, but the two lots of photos look to me like they could be of the same building with 3 years difference, with the later ones looking a bit abandoned and worn down. They have the same general address at Sangkat Phsar Depot 1, Khan Toul Kork, Phnom Penh.
What do you reckon ?

It's the same building, there are clearer photos posted elsewhere. Either they stripped off the fake windows/ fascia or it burned off.

UPDATE: 4 Arrests !

Cambodia News (Phnom Penh): On 2 July 2023, at around 12:30, the Judicial Police Force of Tuol Kork Police Inspectorate arrested four workmen, following a fire in Phnom Penh that killed eight people on 1 July 2023 at 5:10 p.m. at the 6969 Kiss Entertainment Min Ek Karaoke and Hotel, located at house 16 (5th floor), Street 206, Group 44 Village 10, Sangkat Phsar Depot 1, Khan Toul Kork, Phnom Penh.

The four suspects have been named as Khom Sophal, male, 30 years old, Soy San, male, 34 years old, Laklin, male, 26 years old, and Khon Tak, male, 33 years old. They are all workmen at the site, who were staying in rented rooms on National Road 4, Khan Kampol, during the renovation of the Toul Kork building .

The arrested suspects have confessed to being involved in the incident. Khom Sophal said that while they were renovating a room downstairs in the hotel, smoke began to billow from the ceiling and the fibreglass caught fire. He said they were working on the ground floor, while five of the team were involved in renovating the room upstairs on the fifth floor, where they were trapped by the blaze as the fire spread upwards.

The four suspects are now being held in custody at the Tuol Kork Police Inspectorate for further questioning and a case will be sent to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to undergo legal proceedings.

Hong Kong man, 46, among 8 killed in Cambodian nightclub blaze at weekend
Five Chinese nationals were also among the victims, along with two Vietnamese
Fire at the 6969 nightclub in downtown Phnom Penh burned for three hours, with victims reportedly trapped on top floor of building
Fiona Chow
Published: 9:59am, 3 Jul, 2023
A 46-year-old Hong Kong man was among eight people killed in a fire at a nightclub in the Cambodian capital at the weekend, local media reported, as the city’s immigration authorities on Monday said they had not received any calls for help.

Five Chinese nationals – a woman, 29, and four men, aged 23 to 30 – were also among the victims, as well as two Vietnamese people.
https://www.scmp.com/print/news/hong-ko ... ze-weekend