Sa Kaeo: At least 27 Thai nationals have died in the fire at a hotel-casino in Camobia's Poipet, according to local officials in Sa Kaeo.
Chanathip Khokmanee, deputy governor of Sa Kaeo, said yesterday that 26 bodies were recovered at the fire-gutted venue while an injured person died after being sent to a hospital in Sa Kaeo.
More than 10 emergency response vehicles were sent to bring the bodies back, but only 10 bodies had been identified and brought back to Thailand yesterday. Eight were senior citizens, aged from 63 to 82 years old.
According to local officials, the other bodies would be brought back to Thailand after the necessary paperwork is complete.
Forensic officials from Sa Kaeo provincial police bureau also joined the identification process at Wat Trat, a Cambodian temple near the Khlong Luek border checkpoint in Aranyaprathet district.
Of the 10, five were kept at the Sawang Thiantham Foundation, three at Wat Pa Phai in tambon Tha Kham, and one each at Aranyaprathet Hospital and Yupparaj Sa Kaeo Hospital.
The blaze broke out late on Wednesday night and burnt down the Cambodian hotel and casino complex in Poipet, bordering Sa Kaeo's Aranyaprathet district. The incident injured 112 people, including 27 people who are still in hospital, said Mr Chanathip.
Cherdkiat Atthakor, Thai ambassador to Cambodia, said the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh has mobilised resources to help Thai nationals left stranded after the fire.
Consular officials at the embassy have been sent to coordinate closely with Cambodian authorities while officials from the Chanthaburi-based passport office are at the help and coordination centre in Sa Kaeo.
A help and coordination centre has been opened near the Khlong Luek border checkpoint for the fire victims and their families.
According to AFP, rescuers scoured the charred ruins of the Cambodian hotel and casino complex yesterday.
A Cambodian police officer said they believed "there are many more bodies still trapped inside" as rescuers began entering the gutted complex.
Hundreds of Cambodian soldiers and police officers, along with volunteers from Thailand, are taking part in the search.
Smoke was still occasionally rising from the complex yesterday as rescuers prepared to enter the buildings around 7am, with fire trucks on standby at the scene.