Poipet casino hotel fire

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Poipet casino hotel fire
Date28 December 2022 (2022-12-28)
Time11:30 pm [1] (ICT, UTC+07:00)
Location Poipet, Cambodia
Coordinates 13°40′N102°33′E / 13.66°N 102.55°E / 13.66; 102.55
Cause(preliminary) Overheated wires caused by New Year's Day decorations [2]
Deaths27
Non-fatal injuries112

On 28 December 2022, a fire at a casino hotel in Poipet, Cambodia, killed at least 27 people. [1] [3]

Contents

Background

Poipet is a border town in Banteay Meanchey Province, Cambodia which is about 200 m (660 ft) from the Thai border, just opposite of the Thai city of Aranyaprathet. [3] [4] Under Cambodian law gambling is prohibited for citizens, but is allowed for foreigners. Because most types of gambling are also illegal in Thailand, [1] Poipet is popular with Thai gamblers. [1] The Grand Diamond City is a casino hotel which backs onto the Thai border. The business employs 400 staff. [1] The casino was owned by fugitive Thai politician Vatana Asavahame, aged 86 at the time of the fire, who was sentenced in absentia to three years in jail for land-procurement fraud. [5]

Fire

At 23:30 on 28 December 2022, a fire broke out in the Grand Diamond City when hundreds of people were in the building. [1] At least 27 people were killed and 112 others were injured. Most of the dead died of smoke inhalation or were killed after jumping from high floors to escape the fire. [3] Seventeen of the dead were Thai nationals, and one each were Nepalese, Malaysian, and Chinese. [3] At least 27 of the injured were treated in hospitals. [3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cambodia casino fire: At least 19 dead on Thai border
  2. ↑ "More victims recovered from Cambodia casino hotel fire". NBC News. 2022-12-30.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Senith, Heng; Cheang, Sopheng (2022-12-30). "26 bodies found as search ends at Cambodian hotel fire site". Associated Press . Retrieved 2022-12-31.
  4. ↑ "El incendio de un casino en Camboya provoca al menos 25 muertos" (in Spanish). 2022-12-30. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
  5. ↑ "Fugitive Thai politician owned Cambodian casino where fire killed 10". The Nation Thailand. 29 December 2022.


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