26 bodies found as search ends at site of Cambodia hotel fire
Cambodia casino hotel fire may have been caused by New Year's holiday decorations that drew too much electricity
ByHENG SINITH and SOPHENG CHEANG via AP
Saturday, December 31, 2022 2:57AM

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- The search for bodies in the wreckage of a burned-out casino hotel complex in western Cambodia has concluded with 26 people confirmed dead, a senior official said late Friday.

Banteay Meanchey province Governor Um Reatrey told The Associated Press by phone that after 39 hours of rescue and search operations, there were also 57 injured survivors from the Wednesday night fire at the Grand Diamond City casino and hotel in the town of Poipet.

Seventeen of the dead were from Thailand, one each from Nepal, Malaysia and China, and six bodies were yet to be identified, he said.

The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office of Thailand's Sa Kaeo province, just across the border from Poipet, said there had been 27 deaths - 26 in Cambodia and one in a Thai hospital. It said of the 112 people injured, 27 remained in hospitals and 85 had returned to their homes.

Thailand, which provided firefighting and rescue assistance, was where many of the injured were taken for treatment. Thais made up a large proportion of the guests and employees at the casino complex.

Searchers failed to find new bodies Friday afternoon at the disaster site, although more dead had been expected to be found.

The blaze at the Grand Diamond City complex started late Wednesday night and was extinguished more than 12 hours later on Thursday afternoon.

The Grand Diamond City casino complex has 500 employees, and it had 1,000 customers Wednesday, according to a report from Soth Kimkolmony, a spokesperson for Cambodia's National Committee for Disaster Management. It was unclear how many were present when the fire broke out, and how many managed to flee to safety.

Many of the injured had been rushed across the border for treatment in neighboring Thailand. That, along with the chaotic rescue efforts, made it difficult to get an accurate toll of the casualties.

Thai and Cambodian rescue teams worked side by side in searching the two-building complex. Governor Um Reatrey said 1,009 Cambodian personnel and 221 from Thailand aided in the search efforts.

Thailand's Ruamkatanyu Foundation, a social welfare organization that sends volunteers to disaster scenes, said Friday the search operation in the main 17-story building of the casino complex was completed, and it was withdrawing its teams. It said its searchers could not enter the more badly damaged 6-story part of the complex because it was too unsafe.

An initial investigation found that the fire may have been caused by New Year's holiday decorations that drew too much electricity, causing wires to overheat and burn, local authorities said.
https://abc13.com/cambodia-casino-fire- ... /12631338/

Malaysian woman among Cambodia casino fire’s casualties
31-12- 2022 08:33 PM
BANGKOK: A Malaysian woman was among those who perished in a casino fire in Cambodia.

The 73-year-old woman and her Thai husband died in the devasting fire that broke out at the Grand Diamond City hotel-casino in Poipet, Banteay Meanchey Province, Cambodia, at 11.30 pm (local time) on Wednesday.

The woman, whose name has been withheld, and her 70-year-old husband travelled to Poipet to attend a friend’s daughter’s wedding.

M. Ramesh, a relative of the deceased, said family members tried to contact the duo upon hearing news of the blaze.

Ramesh also said the woman’s son went to hospitals and temples to find the couple, but was unsuccessful.

He added that on Friday, family members requested for the search and rescue team to the find the couple at their hotel room.

“They were found locked inside their hotel room. Both were found dead from smoke inhalation,” he told Bernama.
https://www.thesundaily.my/local/malays ... MG10436028

Deadly fire at Cambodian casino blamed on electrical fault
31 Dec 2022 01:16PM
POIPET, Cambodia: An electrical fault caused a devastating casino fire that killed 26 people, Cambodian authorities said on Saturday (Dec 31), with many of the bodies found in stairways or trapped in rooms after rescuers failed to reach them in time.

The blaze at the Grand Diamond City hotel-casino in Poipet town, near the Thai border, broke out around 11.30pm on Wednesday night (Thursday, 12.30am, Singapore time).

It rampaged through the multi-storey casino-hotel complex, with dramatic images and rescuers telling of people forced to jump from ledges and windowsills to escape the flames.

"The accident was caused by an electrical short circuit," said Kun Kim, deputy chairman of the National Committee for Disaster Management.

He confirmed that 26 people - 17 Thais, one Malaysian, and one Nepalese among them - died in the blaze.

"Some people were burnt to death, some died because of a lack of oxygen, and some were burnt and died along exit ways," he said.

He said authorities took too long to put out the flames, blaming the hotel-casino's complex layout, as well as a lack of rescue equipment.

Cambodian emergency teams called off their efforts on Friday evening as night fell, with Kun Kim confirming teams had searched all of the complex.

Neung, a 42-year-old Thai casino worker who gave only his nickname, said his father died in a hotel room after helping two women to escape.

"But in helping them, he used a lot of energy and was choked by the smoke," he said.

"Now, I only want to have his body," he told AFP on Friday.

Many of the scores injured were being treated by the Thais, who helped Cambodian emergency teams with the search-and-rescue operation.

Thai officials said on Friday more than 50 people had been hospitalised, and 13 were in critical condition.

Cambodian authorities said they were deliberating over whether charges would be brought against the hotel owners.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/ca ... no-3176426

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.

More details on the alleged Thai owner of the Grand Diamond City, who is on the run from Thai police and is said to be in hiding out in Cambodia : https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-as ... ire-police

The owner of Grand Diamond City is reportedly fugitive Thai politician Vatana Asavahame, 86.

About a year ago, Vatana offered to sell Grand Diamond City and another casino for a combined price of 12 billion baht (S$467 million), citing the economic downturn as the reason.

It is not clear whether the sale took place.

A former deputy interior minister, Vatana is wanted by the 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 he failed to attend the reading of a Supreme Court verdict on his case.

Vatana reportedly fled to Cambodia.
In July 2018, the court sentenced him in absentia to three years in jail for land-procurement fraud. AFP, REUTERS, XINHUA, THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

The casino owner, Vatana Asavahame, has also been accused by US Officials of involvement in drug trafficking: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/ ... 0a0539c55/

U.S. CHARGE CAUSES UPROAR IN THAILAND
By William Branigin
July 30, 1994
BANGKOK, JULY 29 -- A U.S. charge that a leading Thai legislator has been involved in drug trafficking is generating bitter recriminations among politicians here and lawsuits against American officials.

Incensed at being denied a U.S. visa on suspicion of drug trafficking, Vatana Asavahame, a senior opposition leader in the Thai parliament, has filed defamation charges against the American ambassador to Thailand and the head of the U.S. Information Service (USIS) office here. He has also vowed to sue President Clinton.

Alex wrote: ↑Sun Jan 01, 2023 1:56 pm It kind of makes me want to reconsider living in a high-rise condo in Phnom Penh.

After seeing many of them over the course of 2 days, I decided I wouldn't bother with any of them.

I remember a woman who worked in one of the buildings enthusiastically pointing at the fire hose in the 10th floor hallway. I pointed to the stairwell without doors and said "where are the doors"? Both she and the agent looked baffled.

I'll take my chances with my smoke detectors and access to the roof and adjacent buildings.

Is there a good way to jump out of a high building?

Try to land on a vehicle would help break fall.

seems he is also Cambodian

dont know what this has to do with the fire but......

Thai Fugitive Linked to Casino Fire Received Cambodian Citizenship, Shares Business Ties with Tycoon Ly Yong Phat

Fugitive Thai politician Vatana Asavahame, linked to management of the Poipet casino devastated by a deadly fire last week, received Cambodian citizenship in a 2008 royal decree, according to documents viewed by CamboJA.

Asavahame’s wife has business ties to tycoon Ly Yong Phat. Both appear connected to the management of the Grand Diamond City Hotel and Casino, which became engulfed in fire last Wednesday, killing at least 26 people and injuring dozens.

Provincial authorities say they are still investigating the cause of the fire, initially blamed on electrical overload.

https://cambojanews.com/thai-fugitive-l ... yong-phat/

Bottom line, cutting costs on high rises ( and many buildings in the kingdom) leads to not having adequate safety measures in place.

willyhilly wrote: ↑Fri Dec 30, 2022 8:52 pm No sprinklers I assume? Probably few working fire hydrants. No firehoses on the floors.No emergency stairs. No firedoors. You know the story.

Barred windows.....

phuketrichard wrote: ↑Tue Jan 03, 2023 10:26 am seems he is also Cambodian

dont know what this has to do with the fire but......

.

https://cambojanews.com/thai-fugitive-l ... yong-phat/

Bottom line, cutting costs on high rises ( and many buildings in the kingdom) leads to not having adequate safety measures in place.
[/quote]
You answered your own question.

Of course the casino ownership has something to do with the fire - the owner has a responsibility toward the families of the customers that died in his casino due to the lax or non-existant fire safety standards observed in the building.
IMO, the outcome of this fire was a typical example of greed, corruption, and sheer laziness concerning the enforcement of fire safety measures by local and national authorities.