Chuck Borris wrote: ↑Thu Dec 29, 2022 4:52 pm They burned down the gambling house
It died with an awful sound
Funky Claude was running in and out
He was pulling kids out the ground now

Your 'don't eat the yellow snow' footer gives away you know the Montreux casino fire at Zappa's 1971 show was the inspiration for this song but maybe that is not clear to all readers - so a link for those who were left wondering:

https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/frank-zapp ... the-water/

Massive fire at Cambodia hotel casino kills at least 16
A massive fire raging more than 12 hours in a Cambodian hotel casino has killed at least 16 people with the toll likely to rise
By SOPHENG CHEANG Associated Press
December 29, 2022, 3:54 PM

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- A massive fire that lasted more than 12 hours in a Cambodian hotel casino killed at least 16 people and injured about 50, while other victims were apparently not yet accounted for Thursday, as neighboring Thailand sent firetrucks to help fight the blaze in a bustling border town.

Videos posted on social media showed people falling from a roof after they were trapped by the fire at the Grand Diamond City casino and hotel in the border town of Poipet. Many of those inside, both customers and staff, were from neighboring Thailand.

In a video posted by Cambodia's firefighting agency, onlookers could be heard shouting pleas to rescue people trapped on the roof of the hotel complex, which is more than a dozen stories tall at its highest point. The video showed at least one man falling as the flames reached the roof.

“Oh, please help rescue them. Pump water... pump water," shouted the onlookers.

The Department of Fire Prevention, Extinguishing and Rescue posted that calls for help were heard from the 13th, 14th and 15th floors at 4 a.m. and hands were seen waving from windows as well as a mobile phone's flashlight signaling from inside the complex.

“The fire was massive, and was inside the casino, so it was difficult for our water cannons to reach it,” observed a firefighter on the video posted online by the fire department. He said that was the reason the fire continued burning for such a long time.

The blaze, which started around midnight Wednesday, was finally put out at 2 p.m. Thursday, said Sek Sokhom, head of Banteay Meanchey's information department. He said a local Buddhist temple was being prepared to receive the dead.

The province's deputy governor, Ngor Meng Chroun, told Cambodia's Bayon Radio the death toll had reached 16, with about 50 other people injured. The number of deaths appeared likely to rise, as more bodies of those trapped inside were discovered and critically hurt people succumbed to their injuries.
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wi ... t-95914193

Casino owned by Vatana Asavahame. Vatana, a former deputy interior minister, is wanted by Thai authorities for malfeasance in connection with irregularities involving the Klong Dan wastewater treatment project in Samut Prakan province, which is located in his former constituency.

A warrant for his arrest was issued in July 2008 after Vatana failed to attend the reading of a Supreme Court verdict on the case against him and others accused of corruption in the wastewater project. He reportedly fled to Cambodia.

In July 2018, the court sentenced Vatana in absentia to three years in jail for land-procurement fraud.

kagi wrote: ↑Thu Dec 29, 2022 6:44 pm Casino owned by Vatana Asavahame. Vatana, a former deputy interior minister, is wanted by Thai authorities for malfeasance in connection with irregularities involving the Klong Dan wastewater treatment project in Samut Prakan province, which is located in his former constituency.

A warrant for his arrest was issued in July 2008 after Vatana failed to attend the reading of a Supreme Court verdict on the case against him and others accused of corruption in the wastewater project. He reportedly fled to Cambodia.

In July 2018, the court sentenced Vatana in absentia to three years in jail for land-procurement fraud.

I guess that means that he won't be able to claim insurance for the fire ?

If he was in the casino he probably won't be doing anything anymore.

Thai news reports say there are a lot of people inside who didn't make it.

UPDATE
19 Killed, Dozens Injured In Hotel Casino Fire At Cambodia-Thailand Border
The blaze at the Grand Diamond City hotel-casino in Poipet, within view of the Thai border, broke out late Wednesday night, Cambodian police said.
World NewsAgence France-PresseUpdated: December 29, 2022 5:18 pm IST
At least 19 people were killed and many others are feared dead in a fire at a Cambodian casino, with a rescuer describing how victims hurled themselves from a ledge in a desperate bid to escape the flames.

The blaze at the Grand Diamond City hotel-casino in Poipet, within view of the Thai border, broke out late Wednesday night, Cambodian police said.

"There are 19 dead so far as we see bodies and bones," said Sek Sokhom, director of Cambodia's Banteay Meanchey provincial information department, warning the "figure could be higher" as rescuers have not yet reached parts of the complex.

A volunteer with Thai rescue group Ruamkatanyu Foundation who wished to remain anonymous said his team arrived at around 2 am (0730 GMT) and saw people jump from the building.

"I witnessed people running out of the building to escape from the smoke," he said, adding that a group were also packed onto a rooftop to avoid the flames.

"Then we saw some people jumping down," he said.

Video showed the building consumed by flames, with firefighters struggling to contain the blaze and rescuers attempting to pluck people from a burning ledge.

In one clip, an unidentified man is seen sitting on a window ledge as smoke billows out from behind him. In another, a group of people huddle on a ledge as flames draw near.

A Thai foreign ministry source said they had been coordinating closely with local authorities, "including by sending in fire trucks from the Thai side".

Thai authorities in neighbouring Sa Kaeo province later said more than 50 victims had been hospitalised there, with local public health official Prapas Pookduang telling AFP that 13 people were "on life support".

Sa Kaeo Governor Parinya Phothisat said another roughly 60 people caught up in the fire had already been checked and cleared by Thai hospitals.

He said Thai hospitals had treated 79 Thai nationals, 30 Cambodians and eight Indonesians.

The Ruamkatanyu Foundation volunteer said the blaze started on the first floor but spread quickly along carpets, leaping up through the multi-storey building.
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/19-kill ... er-3647945

phuketrichard wrote: ↑Thu Dec 29, 2022 8:01 pm this is the first report i have seen that specifies they were Thai citizens that died
yet NO Khmers died>>>>>>

The Thai and Cambodian authorities confirmed to Thairath that 21 Thai people were killed in the incident while 53 others were injured. .

https://thethaiger.com/news/national/21 ... n-cambodia

Massive fire at Cambodia hotel casino kills at least 19
By SOPHENG CHEANG22 minutes ago
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A massive fire at a Cambodian hotel casino that lasted more than 12 hours killed at least 19 people and injured more than 60, while other victims were apparently not yet accounted for Thursday. Neighboring Thailand sent firetrucks and emergency workers to help cope with the crisis in the bustling border town of Poipet.

Some victims were believed to still be under debris or in locked rooms that rescue teams could not immediately access, so the death toll was expected to rise, said Sek Sokhom, head of Banteay Meanchey’ province’s information department. He said more than 60 people were injured.

The dead and injured comprised people of several nationalities, including Thai, Chinese, Malaysian, Vietnamese and Cambodian, he said. A local Buddhist temple was being used to receive their bodies.
https://apnews.com/article/thailand-fir ... ca9556da7e

International news were pointing the carpet flooring in an article this morning, as a main reason for the quick spreading of flames.
Can't help but think that indeed a cheap synthetic one being lit by a cigarette could have been a critical circumstance in this business, where buildings are like mazes so the customer cannot tell if day or night after a few hours there, drinking and all....