metro
Ten killed, scores injured in huge hotel-casino fire on Cambodian border
About 10 people are dead and more than a dozen on life support after a fire at a Cambodian border casino, with photos from the scene showing people desperately huddled on ledges and perched on windowsills in a bid to escape the flames.
The blaze at the Grand Diamond City hotel-casino in Poipet, on the Thai border, broke out late Wednesday night, Cambodian police said.
A provisional police report seen by AFP put the death toll at “about 10” and the number of injured at 30.
But Thai authorities in neighbouring Sa Kaeo province later said that more than 50 victims had been hospitalised there, with public health official Prapas Pookduang telling AFP that 13 people were “on life support”.
Sa Kaeo Governor Parinya Phothisat said another 60-odd people caught up in the conflagration had already been checked and cleared by Thai hospitals.
Images obtained by AFP showed the building consumed by flames, with firefighters struggling to contain the blaze and rescuers attempting to pluck people from a burning ledge.
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In one clip, an unidentified man is seen sitting on a window ledge as smoke billows out from behind him. In another, a group of people huddle on a ledge as flames draw near.
A Thai foreign ministry source said they had been coordinating closely with local authorities, “including by sending in firetrucks from the Thai side”.
Governor Parinya said Thai hospitals had treated 79 Thai nationals, 30 Cambodians and eight Indonesians.
A volunteer with Thai rescue group the Ruamkatanyu Foundation said the blaze started on the first floor but spread quickly along the carpets, leaping up through the multi-storey building.
– Hotel-casino hotspots –
Cambodia is one of Southeast Asia’s poorest countries and its citizens are officially barred from gambling in its casinos.
There are numerous hotel-casinos clustered along the Thai border, with Poipet a popular holiday destination for visitors from Thailand, where most forms of gambling are also illegal.
The blaze follows two other fatal incidents in entertainment venues in neighbouring Thailand and Vietnam in 2022.
In August, a fire broke out at a Thai nightclub killing 26 people and injuring scores more.
And in September, a blaze broke out in southern Vietnam, killing 32 people in a karaoke bar.
Concerns have long been raised over the region’s lax approach to health and safety regulations, particularly in its countless bars, nightclubs and entertainment venues.
A massive inferno erupted at a New Year’s Eve party at Bangkok’s swanky Santika club in 2009, killing 67 people and injuring more than 200.
The owner of Santika was jailed for three years over the blaze, which began when fireworks were set off as a rock band played on stage.
metro
Police nab fake inspector, recover stolen cars
Police nab fake inspector, recover stolen cars
Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have arrested a fake Inspector who engages in armed robbery and car snatching, among other crimes.
This was disclosed by the Rivers State Police Commissioner, Olatunji Dosu while parading the suspect among other suspected criminals on Wednesday.
According to the Dosu, Monday Igbali, the fake inspector, was a former sergeant who was dismissed after being charged in a kidnapping case in 2021.
He noted that three fancy cars were recovered from Igbali, who runs a gang of five criminals.
Dosu states, “The command commenced an investigation in response to a report filed on August 11, 2023, by one Fibika Kingsley that his Lexus EX330 had been stolen at gunpoint along Agip Road by five gunmen.’’
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“The investigations led to the arrest of one Monday Igbali, aged 43, a native of Okwuzi in the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA of Rivers State.
“He is a former police sergeant who was dismissed after being indicted in a kidnapping case in 2021.
“Since his dismissal, he has continued to parade himself as a police officer, even claiming to be an Inspector of Police, a rank he did not attain before his dismissal.
“He works with a gang of five, with four gang members still at large.
“He has robbed a total of nine cars and sold them for between N1.3m and N2.5m each. He was arrested on March 8, 2024, at his home in Chokocho, Etche, after the police conducted due surveillance following investigations.
“We have recovered three cars from him: a Lexus 330, a Lexus IS250, and a Toyota Highlander.”
Police nab fake inspector, recover stolen cars
metro
Breaking: Military releases FirstNews editor, Segun Olatunji
Breaking: Military releases FirstNews editor, Segun Olatunji
The military has finally released Segun Olatunji, editor of FirstNews, who has been in their custody since March 15.
Olatunji was released on Thursday to Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) General Secretary Iyobosa Uwugiaren and The Nation Deputy Editor Yomi Odunuga under a bridge in Asokoro, Abuja.
It was also learnt that the documents for his release were signed inside a security vehicle with heavily armed operatives.
The security agents were said to be masked and the number plates of their vehicles covered up.
The editor was abducted by armed men in his home in Iyana Odo, Abule Egba area of Lagos, on March 15.
His family members were kept in the dark on his whereabouts and why he was arrested.
Several groups, including the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Nigerian Guild of Editors, almost daily mounted pressure on the government for Olatunji’s release.
On Wednesday, the Nigerian chapter of the International Press Institute said the journalist was in the custody of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA).
metro
BREAKING: Court orders military to release 313 suspected terrorists
BREAKING: Court orders military to release 313 suspected terrorists
A Federal High Court in Borno State has ordered the release of at least 313 suspected terrorists detained by the military.
The court ordered their release due to a lack of evidence to charge the suspects after the investigation.
Maj. Gen. Buba Edward, the Director of Defence Media Operations, announced this during the operational briefing on Thursday in Abuja.
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He said, “The court ordered the release for want of evidence after the conclusion of investigation and other ancillary matters.
“Accordingly, they would be handed over to the Borno State Government for further action.”
BREAKING: Court orders military to release 313 suspected terrorists
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