Another Building Collapse in Cambodia... 36 Dead

7-Story Hotel Building Under Construction Collapses
Workers' Families Living Onsite Increase Damage

Collapse site at a construction site in Kep City, Cambodia. At least 36 people died and 23 were injured.

[Asia Economy Phnom Penh Correspondent An Gil-hyun] Another newly constructed building collapsed in Cambodia, killing at least 36 people and injuring 23.

According to local media including the daily Khmer Times on the 5th, at around 4:30 PM local time on the 3rd, a seven-story hotel building under construction collapsed in Kep City, southwestern Cambodia.

As a result of the accident, 36 workers and their families who were using the hotel building as temporary accommodation died, and 23 were rescued and are receiving treatment at hospitals. Among the deceased were reportedly six children and 14 women.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen visited the site on the night of the accident to encourage rescue efforts and announced, "The government will provide $50,000 to the families of the deceased, $2,500 for funeral expenses, and $10,000 in consolation money to the injured."

Local police have arrested the building owner and his wife to investigate the cause of the accident, and plan to conduct a large-scale search operation using heavy equipment, suspecting that there may be more victims inside the collapsed building.

The construction site of the hotel before the collapse.

This is not the first time a newly constructed building has collapsed in Cambodia. In June last year, a seven-story building under construction in Sihanoukville collapsed, killing 28 people including four women and injuring 26 others to varying degrees. Also, last month, a temple under concrete pouring work collapsed in Siem Reap Province, killing three and injuring 19. In particular, it has been pointed out that many construction sites in Cambodia have workers and their families living on-site, resulting in massive casualties when collapses occur.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.