The collapsed building in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. Photo Doc. DW

Sihanoukville Building in Cambodia Collapse and Death Toll Rises

Zahara Sakinah Abdullah
Business & Industry
Construction & Infrastructure
Jun 23, 2019
2077
A seven-storey building has collapsed in Cambodia, killing at least 15 people with others reported missing, officials say. Three of the victims are confirmed as Cambodian. At least 24 people have been injured, with several of them are injured critically while the search for survivors continues. The building crumbled down before sunrise in the casino-resort town of Sihanoukville in south-western Cambodia.

About 1,000 people contributed to a rescue effort to save people from a mountain of concrete wood and twisted metal. Some of the construction workers were also the residents of the building.

Nhor Chandeun, one of the residents told the news agency that the vibration was felt before it was falling down with no chance to escape the building. Chandeun and his wife kept calling for help but ended up with no reply. Both he and his wife were rescued after 12 hours of being trapped.

The crumbled building which was under-construction was owned by a Chinese company, as stated by the governor of Preah Sihanouk province Yun Min. In recent years, Sihanoukville has been transformed by the construction of Chinese hotels and casinos. The building itself was almost 80% complete when it crashed down, which is the deadliest accident in recent years in Cambodia’s history.

The Chinese building owner, the head of the construction firm and the contractor has been arrested alongside a Cambodian landowner that has also been taken in for questioning. This tragedy is also likely to add to rising anti-Chinese sentiment in the country.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48729072?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world&link_location=live-reporting-story