JAKARTA - At least 19 people were killed and 30 people missing after a major fire hit a casino hotel complex in a Cambodian city, bordering Thailand, officials said Thursday.
About 400 employees and customers were in a casino and Grand Diamond City hotel in Poipet City when the fire broke out.
"The number of deaths could be more than 20," said Sek Sokhom, head of the Banteay Company Provincial Information Department, told Reuters December 29.
"Sixty people were injured," he said.
Video footage shows the fire under control on Thursday afternoon. Crews on the building's emergency ladder wore respirator masks and fire-resistant hoods, before entering the smoke-filled corridor.
Khieu Sopheak, a spokesman for the Ministry of Home Affairs, previously said it was not clear how many people were still inside the charred building.
"We don't know how many are trapped inside and now we're just trying to save lives," he said, adding that the cause of the fire was still unclear.
An important part of Cambodia's tourism industry, casinos in the capital Phnom Penh and on the border with Vietnam and Thailand attract visitors from Asian countries banning gambling.
At least 25 people were hospitalized in Sa Kaeo province across the border, Thai authorities said.
Kasino in Poipet is very popular among short-term Thai visitors in particular, as illegal gambling and unlicensed casinos operate underground in neighboring countries.
Provincial authorities said one Thai citizen died in hospital, while 70 percent of those affected showed symptoms of inhaling smoke.
Cambodian police said hundreds of personnel from the military, police and rescue teams had joined the rescue efforts.
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