An electrical fault caused a devastating casino fire that killed 26 people, Cambodian authorities said on Friday, with many bodies found in stairways or trapped in rooms after rescuers failed to arrive in time.
The fire at the Grand Diamond City hotel-casino in the city of Poipet, near the Thai border, broke out around 11:30 local (0430 GMT) on Friday night.
It rampaged through the multi-storey casino-hotel complex, with dramatic images and rescuers telling people forced to jump from ledges and windowsills to escape the fire.
“The accident was caused by an electrical short circuit,” said Kun Kim, vice chairman of the National Disaster Management Committee.
He confirmed that 26 people – 17 Thais, one Malaysian, and one Nepalese – died in the fire.
“Some people were burned to death, some died from lack of oxygen, and some were burned and died on the way out,” he said.
He said the authorities took too long to extinguish the fire, blaming the layout of the hotel-casino complex, as well as the lack of rescue equipment.
Cambodian emergency teams called off their efforts on Friday as night fell, with Kun Kim confirming teams had searched the entire compound.
Neung, a 42-year-old Thai casino worker who gave only his nickname, said his father died in a hotel room after helping two women to escape.
“But to help him, he used a lot of energy and choked on the smoke,” he said.
“Right now, I just want to have a body,” he told AFP on Friday.
Scores of injured were treated by Thais, who assisted Cambodian emergency teams with search and rescue operations.
Thai officials said more than 50 people had been hospitalized, 13 in critical condition as of Friday.
Cambodian authorities said they were considering whether to press charges against the hotel owners.