Two men died in a fire that broke out at a warehouse belonging to the Long Phuong Cambodia & Asia Co Ltd located in Boeung Keng Kang district’s Tuol Svay Prey I commune, on the morning of January 29, according to reports by the Phnom Penh municipal fire prevention department on January 31.
Phnom Penh municipal fire prevention department director Prom Yorn told The Post that firefighters found two male workers, Soy Dara, 27, and Vann, 32, had died in the inferno.
“According to our preliminary investigation, the two victims may have died from smoke inhalation since the fire began while they were asleep,” Yorn said.
Witnesses near the scene claimed that before the flames became visible they could smell smoke and then flames burst out of the warehouse following what sounded like an explosion.
Officials have not determined the exact cause of the fire as yet.
“[We] are still investigating this case,” Yorn said.
According to the official report, the fire damaged about 90 per cent of the goods stored in a 21m x 25m warehouse and also affected three nearby flats. During the operation the authorities had dispatched 45 fire engines with water-spraying capability to the scene.
Yorn said that during the first month of 2021 the capital recorded a total of 10 fires, but this was the first fatal fire of the year.
Director of the Fire Prevention Department at the Ministry of Interior Neth Vantha called on all citizens to pay more attention when using fire in the kitchen and to make sure the electrical wiring systems in their houses were safe and properly maintained, especially during the upcoming Chinese New Year.
“Please don’t let anyone else lose their life or their home due to a fire cause by someone else’s negligence,” he said.
