A major fire at the Grand Diamond City Hotel and Casino in Poipet City in Cambodia claimed 26 lives. - AP
PHNOM PENH (Xinhua): Two local persons died in a fire at a nightclub in southwestern Cambodia's Preah Sihanouk province on Monday (Jan 30) night, a provincial police chief said on Tuesday.
The blaze broke out at 8pm local time at the Julie & Anna nightclub in Sihanoukville when a worker was welding a curtain rod and welding sparks falling on sound insulation foam on the walls ignited the fire, Preah Sihanouk provincial police chief Chuon Narin said in a report.
"A male-welder and a club waitress were killed in the blaze," he said, adding that three other workers were also injured in the fire.
According to the police, there were no customers at the club yet at the time of accident.
Cambodia recorded a total of 454 fire accidents across the country in 2022, killing 42 people and injuring 55 others, according to the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM).
A major accident last year was the fire at the Grand Diamond City Hotel and Casino in Poipet City that shares borders with Thailand on Dec. 28, which claimed 26 lives, the NCDM said.
