Cambodia is tearing down buildings where a deadly casino fire happened not long ago.

Cambodia is tearing down buildings where a deadly casino fire happened not long ago.

The fire that broke out at the Grand Diamond City Hotel and Casino in Poipet, Cambodia, is still being looked into. The search and rescue mission is over, and the investigation can only move forward by tearing down some parts of the complex.

Even though the tragedy began on December 28, there is still a lot to figure out. Rescue workers have gone as far as they can, and as of January 1, after 39 hours of searching through the wreckage, 26 people had died. A Cambodian Interior Ministry spokesman, Khieu Sopheak, told the online newspaper AJ Cambodia that at least 30 people had died.

Still, we don’t know how many people were hurt. Some news sources say there were only about 55 injuries, while others say the number was well over 100. There were reportedly more than 1,500 people in the hotel at the time of the fire, including guests and employees.

Because to the damage, some buildings had to be demolished. This week-long process has begun.

Still Don’t Know Why

The fire that swiftly became an inferno’s cause has been debated. Possibly a kitchen gas cylinder exploded.

The Phnom Penh Post reports that investigators are also focusing on overburdened electrical circuits. Without checking, they suspect the gambling and hotel complex used too much electricity for its electrical system.

That made the cables melt, and damaged circuits couldn’t be turned off. Demolition will make fire investigation more difficult.

Cambodian and Thai firemen battled the fire. Rescuers used more than 58 ambulances and fire engines to save as many people as possible.

Poipet Governor Keat Hul found it odd that no Cambodian resort employees died in the fire. He told the news outlet that 17 of the 500 workers that night were Thai, one from China, Thailand, and Malaysia.

Numbers will change. Only DNA tests can identify at least six victims.

Three of the four five-story structures on the property are destroyed and must be demolished. Investigators can safely tour the site with more construction gear and engineers.

Poipet Is Going to Change

Sad to say, it took a terrible event for Cambodia to realize that it needed to make some changes to make people safer. But the people who died won’t have died for nothing. Prime Minister Hun Sen is making plans for the city to get new firefighting equipment so that similar tragedies don’t happen again.

There will also be fire trucks that can fight fires in tall buildings. This includes giving them more powerful hoses and making the water pressure better.

It could also mean that Cambodia’s commercial building safety codes will be looked at again. Some news sources said that some people put out the fire with fire extinguishers. This could mean that there wasn’t enough equipment on site, not enough training, or both.