Local media reported that foreign nationals were inside the casino at the time of the fire.
A Thai foreign ministry source said they were coordinating closely with local authorities, with the injured transferred to hospitals in Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province.
“The authorities have been trying to control the fire including by sending in firetrucks from the Thai side,” they said.
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.
HOTEL-CASINO HOTSPOTS
Cambodia is one of Southeast Asia’s poorest countries and its citizens are officially barred from playing in the casinos.
There are numerous hotel-casinos clustered along the Thai-Cambodian border, with Poipet a popular holiday destination for visitors from Thailand, where most forms of gambling are illegal.
The blaze follows two other fatal incidents in entertainment venues in neighbouring Thailand and Vietnam in 2022.
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.
Concerns have long been raised over the region’s lax attitude to health and safety regulations, particularly in its countless bars, nightclubs and entertainment venues.
A massive inferno erupted at a New Year’s Eve party at Bangkok’s swanky Santika club in 2009, killing 67 people and injuring more than 200.
The owner of Santika was jailed for three years over the blaze, which began when fireworks were set off as a rock band played on stage.
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