PHNOM Penh, Cambodia (AFP) – At least three people died when an under-construction building collapsed at a Cambodian beach resort early yesterday, officials said, with fears an unknown number of others may still be buried in the rubble.
The seven-story building in the beach town of Sihanoukville, owned by a Chinese company, collapsed with workers inside.
“We have pulled out a body and we see two more bodies still stuck between debris,” Yun Min, the governor of Preah Sihanouk province, said.
More than a dozen others were injured, officials said, with at least two in hospital in a serious condition.
Images showed excavators digging into the flattened debris in the hunt for other workers feared to be trapped inside.
The building belonged to a Chinese national who rented the land from a Cambodian owner.
Thul Phorsda, police chief of Sihanoukville city, confirmed the death toll and said a Chinese woman was being “detained for questioning” over the fatal accident, but declined to give further details.
With the rescue attempt stretching into the afternoon, authorities remained unable to say how many people were working at the time in a country where informal labor is common.
Gov. Yun Min said around 50 workers would normally have been on the site at the time. “We have rescued 20 so far… we still can’t say exactly how many are trapped in the debris,” he said, adding some may not have been at work at the time of the accident.