Death toll in Cambodia casino fire rises to 25, search operation still underway

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- The death toll has risen to 25 after a massive fire engulfed a hotel-casino in northwest Cambodia's Banteay Meanchey province, officials said on Friday.

"This (Friday) morning, rescue teams recovered six more bodies from the charred rooms of the hotel-casino, bringing the number of the dead to 25 so far," Sek Sokhom, director of the Banteay Meanchey provincial information department, told Xinhua.

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on Friday expressed condolences for the victims, and urged authorities and high-rise building owners to strengthen fire safety and response.

Besides the dead, Hun Sen said 73 others were injured in the fire, which broke out Wednesday midnight at the Grand Diamond City Hotel and Casino in Poipet, a city near the border of Thailand.

"The fire had been completely extinguished, but a search operation for more victims, who are believed to be dead in the blaze, is still going on," he said.

Hun Sen also thanked Thailand for sending its emergency response personnel to join the search and rescue operation.

According to police, the cause of the blaze remains under investigation.