Police have confirmed that 2 more people have died as a result of a fierce blaze at a Phnom Penh nightclub, raising the death toll to 4.
Colonel Sam Nicheka, spokesperson for the Phnom Penh Municipal Police, stated that two of the five victims who were seriously injured in the fire at the Midnight Premier nightclub in Dangkor District on February 5 died on the afternoon of February 6, 2025, at Preah Kosamak Hospital, also known as Lok Sangha Hospital.
The fire occurred at about 10:45 am at the Midnight Premier Club in Prakar village, Prey Sar commune, Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district.
Colonel Sam Vichhika, Spokesman at the Phnom Penh Municipal Police, confirmed yesterday that to put the fire out, Phnom Penh Municipal Police cooperated with firefighters, who took more than three hours to extinguish the flames.
Suong Samol, Chief of Prey Sar commune, said that the victims were all men who worked at the nightclub.
“Authorities have yet to determine the cause of the fire that destroyed the Midnight Premier Club,” Samol said yesterday, but workers repairing the club are suspects.
“According to the police investigation, the fires could have been caused by welders who were hired by the owner of club to fix metal inside the club on Wednesday morning,” he said. “But as soon as the fire started, the welders fled,” he said.
“Police have summoned the owner of the club for questioning over the fire and about the identity of the welders,” he said.
He said that before the fire, the victims were sleeping at the club as they worked late every night.
He said that among the victims, two were found dead in their rooms, while the injured were rescued by firefighters.
The Midnight Premier Club is one of the most popular nightclubs in Dangkor district.
The fire started on the ground floor of the club at about 10:45 am and firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze by 12 pm, but the property was completely destroyed.
“Local authorities intervened to save the victims and the police used many fire trucks to put out the fire,” he said.
Police are waiting for the families of the deceased to confirm the identities of the two deceased men.
The five injured victims were taken to a hospital in Phnom Penh for treatment, while the three bodies are being temporarily stored at a Buddhist pagoda in Prey Sar commune for relatives to claim.
According to a report from the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department, there were about 60 people killed and more than 100 injured by fires in 2024 while 54 people died and 97 injured by fires in 2023. There were 618 fires in 2022 in which 17 people died and 24 injured.
All images: Fresh News
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