At least 19 people have died in an enormous fire that broke out in a casino in Thailand.
Horrific video footage of the blaze shows desperate survivors huddled together on a windowsill of the Grand Diamond City hotel-casino in Poipet as they look to escape the flames.
Other disturbing footage appears to show figures jumping from high windows away from the blaze that broke out late Wednesday at 11.30 pm local time, Cambodian police said.
Firefighters attempted to pluck people cowering on window ledges using a cherry picker.
Thirty people were injured in the fire, local police said in a statement.
In a video posted by Cambodia’s firefighting agency, onlookers could be heard shouting pleas to rescue people trapped on the roof of the hotel complex, which is more than a dozen storeys tall at its highest point.
The video showed at least one man falling as the flames reached the roof.
“Oh, please help rescue them. Pump water, pump water,” shouted the onlookersy
The Department of Fire Prevention, Extinguishing and Rescue posted that calls for help were heard from the 13th, 14th and 15th floors at 4 a.m. and hands were seen waving from windows as well as a mobile phone’s flashlight signaling from inside the complex.
“The fire was massive, and was inside the casino, so it was difficult for our water cannons to reach it,” observed a firefighter on the video posted online by the fire department. He said that was the reason the fire continued burning for such a long time.
Local media reported that foreign nationals were inside the casino at the time of the fire with around 400 workers on site when the flames took hold.
Thai PBS reported that 50 Thais, both staff and customers, were trapped inside the complex.
“There are 19 dead so far as we see bodies and bones,” said Sek Sokhom, director of the Banteay Meanchey provincial information department, warning “the dead figure could be higher” as rescue teams have not reached many parts of the complex.
A volunteer with Thai rescue group the Ruamkatanyu Foundation said the blaze started on the first floor but spread quickly along the carpets, leaping up through the multi-storey building.
Casinos are popular in the border areas as gambling is largely illegal in Thailand.
In August, a fire broke out at a Thai nightclub killing 26 people and injuring scores more.
And in September, a blaze broke out in southern Vietnam, killing 32 people in a karaoke bar.
