Phnom Penh, Dec 30: The death toll due to a massive fire that engulfed a hotel-casino in Cambodia's Banteay Meanchey province has risen to 25, officials said on Friday, adding that a search operation is still underway.

"This (Friday) morning, rescue teams recovered six more bodies from the charred rooms of the hotel-casino, bringing the number of the dead to 25 so far," Sek Sokhom, director of the Banteay Meanchey provincial information department, told Xinhua news agency. Pune Fire: Blaze Engulfs Air Filter Company Near Bhima Koregaon, Two Workers Injured (Watch Video).

Besides the dead, Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Friday 73 others were injured in the fire, which broke out Wednesday midnight at the Grand Diamond City Hotel and Casino in Poipet, a city near the border of Thailand.

"The fire had been completely extinguished, but a search operation for more victims, who are believed to be dead in the blaze, is still going on," he said. Cambodia Fire: Hotel Casino Engulfs in Blaze in Poipet; 10 Killed, 30 Injured (Watch Video).

Hun Sen also thanked Thailand for sending its emergency response personnel to join the search and rescue operation.

According to police, the cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 30, 2022 04:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).