At Least 19 People Killed In Cambodia Casino Fire, Dozen More Feared Dead

A fire at a casino in Cambodia claimed the lives of at least 19 individuals, and many more are suspected to have died. A rescuer reported that the victims threw themselves from a ledge in an effort to flee the flames.

According to Cambodian authorities, the fire started late on Wednesday night at the Grand Diamond City hotel-casino in Poipet, which is close to the Thai border.

Sek Sokhom, head of the communications department for the Banteay Meanchey province of Cambodia, stated that as of now, "there are 19 fatalities," while he cautioned that "the count might be higher" because rescuers had not yet reached all areas of the complex.

An unnamed volunteer with the Thai rescue organization Ruamkatanyu Foundation reported that when his team got at the scene at approximately 2 a.m. ET, they saw people jumping from the building.

"I witnessed people running out of the building to escape from the smoke," he said, adding that a group was also packed onto a rooftop to avoid the flames.

"Then we saw some people jumping down," he said.

Video showed firemen battling to put out the fire as rescuers tried to pull people off a burning ledge and the structure being completely devoured by flames.

A guy is shown in one video sitting on a window ledge while smoke pours out from behind him. In another, a group of individuals scrambles to a ledge as flames approach.

According to a source in the Thai foreign ministry, there had been close coordination with the local law enforcement, "even by sending in fire trucks from the Thai side."

Later, according to Thai officials in the nearby Sa Kaeo province, more than 50 victims had been received there and 13 people were "on life support," according to local public health officer Prapas Pookduang.

A further 60 or so persons who were caught up in the fire, according to Sa Kaeo Governor Parinya Phothisat, had already been examined and released by Thai hospitals.

Thirty Cambodians, eight Indonesians, and 79 Thai nationals, according to him, were treated at Thai hospitals.

According to a volunteer with the Ruamkatanyu Foundation, the fire started on the ground level but swiftly jumped up through the multi-storey structure along carpets.