Death toll in Cambodia casino fire rises to 25

PHNOM PENH: The death toll due to a massive fire that engulfed a hotel-casino in Cambodia's Banteay Meanchey province has risen to 25, officials said on Friday, adding that a search operation is still underway.

"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 news agency.

Besides the dead, Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Friday 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.