Cambodian rescue teams recovered bodies on Friday (30th December) from the burned rooms of a casino-hotel where a fire killed at least 27 people on Thursday (29th December). A further 20 people were still thought to be missing.

Around 400 employees and guests were in the Grand Diamond City casino and hotel in Poipet, a town on the Thai border, when the fire broke out.

Sek Sokhom, head of the Banteay Meanchey provincial information department, said the fire may have been due to an electrical short circuit and an investigation was underway.

Dozens of rescue workers were involved in the recovery effort, taking turns to move through the building room by room, while heavy machinery was used to clear blackened debris.

Dozens of rescue workers lined up outside the site on Friday, taking turns to go through the building room by room, while heavy machinery was used to clear blackened debris, video footage shared by a Thai volunteer rescue organisation Ruamkatanyu Foundation showed.

Chanathip Khokmanee, a provincial official in Sa Kaeo on the Thai side of the border said hospitals there had treated at least 112 people with injuries like burns, broken bones and respiratory problems, Reuters reported.

Many of the victims were Thai, rescue workers said, and dozens of injured people were taken over the border to the Thai province of Sa Kaeo for treatment.