Fire breaks out at Grand Diamond City casino and hotel in Poipet, Cambodia

The search for bodies in the wreckage of the Grand Diamond City casino and hotel in Poipet, Cambodia, concluded on Friday with 26 people confirmed dead, Banteay Meanchey province Governor Um Reatrey told the Associated Press¹. The blaze started around midnight Wednesday and was extinguished more than 12 hours later on Thursday afternoon².

By Friday morning, 25 bodies had been recovered from the site, according to Sek Sokhom, head of Banteay Meanchey province's information department². He said six bodies were found Friday morning, some in their rooms and others on stairways². More than 60 people were injured². 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, and that of the 112 people injured, 27 remained in hospitals and 85 had returned to their homes¹. Seventeen of the dead were from Thailand, one each from Nepal, Malaysia and China, and six bodies were yet to be identified¹.

The Grand Diamond City casino complex has 500 employees and had 1,000 customers Wednesday, according to a report from Soth Kimkolmony, a spokesperson for Cambodia's National Committee for Disaster Management². It was unclear how many were present when the fire broke out, and how many managed to flee to safety². Thai and Cambodian rescue teams worked side-by-side in searching the 17-story complex². Governor Um Reatrey said 1,009 Cambodian personnel and 221 from Thailand aided in the search efforts¹.

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 said². The Nation reported the blaze erupted in the 355-room hotel casino at about 11.30pm after a gas tank exploded³. El Pais reported the fire began in the casino and spread through the building to the hotel wing via a walkway⁴.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen made his first public comments on the tragedy in remarks to villagers Friday morning at a road repair ceremony in the southern province of Kampot².

The Nation reported the casino reportedly belongs to fugitive Thai politician Vatana Asavahame³. Over a year ago, Vatana offered to sell his two casinos in Cambodia, Grand Diamond City Hotel and Casino and Poipet Resort and Casino, for a combined price of 12 billion baht, but it remains unclear whether they were sold³. A warrant for his arrest was issued in July 2008 after he failed to attend the reading of a Supreme Court verdict, and in July 2018 the court sentenced him in absentia to three years in jail for land-procurement fraud³.

What it means for players

Poipet sits on the main border crossing between Thailand and Cambodia, and its casinos draw many Thai nationals because gambling is mostly illegal in Thailand⁵. The Grand Diamond City casino is a short walk from the border checkpoint with Thailand and is popular with customers who make the four-hour drive from Bangkok². Poipet has more than a dozen casinos². The fire has closed one of the largest venues in the town, and the status of the 355-room hotel casino³ and its 500 employees² has not been reported. For visitors who cross from Thailand to gamble in Poipet, the incident has removed one major property from the market, and no reopening date has been reported.

What happens next

The search operation in the main 17-story building was completed after 39 hours of rescue and search operations¹. Authorities are still working to determine the cause of the blaze⁵. No further steps, including any investigation into building safety or any reopening of the complex, have been reported.