Social media footage depicted people trapped inside the blazing structure as rescuers attempted to approach them.
Due to a fire at a casino and hotel in western Cambodia, at least 19 people are dead and up to 30 are missing.
The fire at the Grand Diamond City Casino in Poipet began before midnight on Wednesday, according to the General Commissar of the National Police.
Just after 4 a.m. UK time (11 a.m. local time), police reported that the blaze in the Thai border region had been doused.
The governor of Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province, Parinya Phothisat, stated that one of those murdered was a Thai national and 32 Thais were hospitalized.
“The number of fatalities could exceed twenty,” said Sek Sokhom, chief of the information department for the province of Banteay Meanchey.
He reported that 30 individuals were still missing and 60 were hurt.
The official television of Thailand said that hundreds of Thais were trapped inside.
Social media footage depicted visitors hanging from windows or being stuck within the structure, and city governor Keat Hol stated that firefighters and other emergency personnel were attempting to rescue individuals.
The Holiday Palace Hotel, located behind the Grand Diamond City Casino, is where John Sagun is employed.
Initially, he believed that his hotel was on fire, but a coworker informed him that it was the Grand Diamond.
He stated that the fire looked to have originated in the kitchen area of the casino.
“Between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m., my employer instructed me to evacuate our personnel, so I left the office to determine the situation.
I was astonished to find it burning when I was outside.
Mr. Sagun stated that on the 17th floor of the Grand Diamond was a sky bar named G360 where approximately 40 or 50 individuals were stuck.
Additionally, he stated that at least two persons had perished while attempting to leap from the blazing building.
Thai PBS reported that five fire vehicles and ten rescue vans had been transported across the border in response to a request for assistance from Cambodian officials.
Poipet is a city in the Banteay Meanchey Province of western Cambodia. It is located across the border from the more prosperous Thai city of Aranyaprathet, and both cities serve as cross-border commercial and tourism hubs.
