PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Police say building under construction collapses in Cambodia’s city of Sihanoukville, killing 3 and trapping dozens.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Police say building under construction collapses in Cambodia's city of Sihanoukville, killing 3 and trapping dozens

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Police say building under construction collapses in Cambodia's city of Sihanoukville, killing 3 and trapping dozens. </s> At least seven people died after an under-construction structure being built by a Chinese firm collapsed at a Cambodian beach resort on Saturday, AFP reported. The building collapsed before sunrise in Sihanoukville town, a tourist hotspot in southwestern Cambodia.

“Now the death toll from the building collapse is seven,” Sihanoukville city police chief Thul Phorsda said. Police officers had earlier put the toll at three.

At least 21 people were wounded, and several of them are in a critical condition. At least three of the deceased are Cambodians – two workers and a translator. “Teams continue to search for more victims,” a provincial official statement said.

There is no report on how many people were inside the building at the time it collapsed, Preah Sihanouk Governor Yun Min said. Police officers had earlier said that 30 people may be trapped in the debris.

An investigation has been launched into the incident and four people have been arrested so far. This includes the Chinese building owner, the head of the construction firm, the contractor, and a Cambodian landowner. </s> A seven-storey building has collapsed in Cambodia, killing three people with others reported missing

Cambodia (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / Online - 22nd June, 2019) A seven-storey building has collapsed in Cambodia, killing three people with others reported missing.The under-construction building in the coastal city of Sihanoukville was owned by a Chinese company."We have pulled out a body and we see two more bodies still stuck between debris," provincial governor Yun Min.In recent years, Sihanoukville has been transformed by the construction of Chinese hotels and casinos.The three confirmed dead were all Cambodian - two workers and a translator.Reports vary on the number of people missing as rescue efforts continue.Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said that "more than 30" were unaccounted for, while the labour ministry said it could be fewer than 10.

The provincial governor said 20 had been rescued and that about 50 workers would usually be on site at that time.A reason for the collapse has not yet been given, but the city police chief said a Chinese woman was being "detained for questioning".The once-small fishing village saw a boom in tourism in the 2000s, mostly Western backpackers and holidaymakers.The last three years has seen the area change beyond recognition, with the construction of dozens of casinos catering almost solely to Chinese tourists.Cambodia has notoriously lax labour laws, putting construction workers at risk.The International Labour Organization has highlighted the "exposure of workers to constant safety and health hazards" on building sites. </s> Phnom Penh [Cambodia], Jun 23 (ANI): At least 17 people were killed and 24 others sustained injuries after a seven-storey under-constructed building collapsed in southwestern Cambodia's Preah Sihanouk province, authorities said on Sunday.

The incident took place in the wee hours of Saturday in the coastal town of Sihanoukville. About 40-50 construction workers were sleeping at the construction site when the building collapsed, reported Xinhua news agency.

Seng Loth, a spokesman for the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning, and Construction, told Xinhua news agency that the project was unlicensed and the provincial authorities had warned the developer twice about the project.

In a Facebook post late on Saturday, Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen expressed his condolences to the bereaved families and those injured in the incident.

The rescue work is underway. Police have initiated an investigation into the matter. (ANI) </s> A seven-story building under construction collapsed in Cambodia's coastal city of Sihanoukville early Saturday, killing seven workers and injuring 21, authorities said.

Provincial authorities said in a statement that four Chinese nationals involved in the construction have been detained while an investigation into the collapse is carried out.

Rescue work at the site was underway to find out if any more workers were trapped in the rubble, said the city police chief, Maj. Thul Phorsda. Workers could be seen using saws to cut steel beams and excavators to move piles of rubble from the site.

The Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training said that 30 workers were at the site when the building tumbled around 4 a.m. Police and provincial authorities said they were unsure how many people were working on the building.

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the collapse.

Yun Min, the governor of Preah Sihanouk province, said the building was owned by a Chinese investor who leased land for a condominium — one of many Chinese projects in the thriving beach resort.

Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said on his official Facebook page that the Cambodian workers were using the unfinished structure as their sleeping quarters. The building was about 70% to 80% completed.

Sihanoukville was once a sleepy fishing community before being claimed first by Western backpackers, and then wealthy Russians.

Chinese investment has flooded in in recent years, spurring a construction boom in a resort town known for its casinos which pull in mainland tourists.

There are around 50 Chinese-owned casinos and dozens of hotel complexes under construction.

Between 2016 and 2018, $1 billion was invested by Chinese government and private businesses in the Preah Sihanouk province, according to official statistics.

Cambodia, one of Southeast Asia's poorest countries, has notoriously lax safety laws and labor protections. Accidents are common at its building sites. </s> Anger growing over poor standards in construction boom that has transformed Sihanoukville into tourist and gambling hub

This article is more than 2 months old

This article is more than 2 months old

Seven people including five Chinese nationals have been charged with criminal offences over the collapse of a building in Cambodia that has left 28 dead.

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Three days after the unfinished building in Sihanoukville collapsed, the Chinese owner of the site, Chen Kun, and construction supervisor, Deng Xing Gui, were charged at Preah Sihanouk provincial court with involuntary manslaughter, causing unintentional injuries and damage.

Three other Chinese people were charged with conspiracy over the collapse, along with a Vietnamese and a Cambodian.

The charges carry a penalty of up to three years in jail and the trial will take place against a backdrop of mounting concern in the country about lax building standards involving Chinese construction companies.

The unfinished, seven-storey building collapsed early on Saturday on top of dozens of construction workers who slept each night on the second floor.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Rescue workers search for victims in the debris a day after an under-construction building collapsed in Sihanoukville. Photograph: Sun Rethy Kun/AFP/Getty Images

The condominium was being built in the thriving seaside town, which has been transformed in recent years by a mainly Chinese-led building boom catering to tourists who flock to newly established casinos.

Hopes of finding any more survivors had faded on Monday when two people were cut free from the tangled wreckage and carried out alive.

“I heard the sound of rescuers, I called for help but they didn’t hear me,” Ros Sitha, one of the two found alive on Monday, told Agence France-Presse.

“There was a dead body near me. I didn’t have water to drink,” the forty-one year old said from his hospital bed. “I am so lucky to survive.”

Authorities on Monday put the death toll at 28 with at least 25 injured.

One of the survivors, Nhor Chandeun, said he and his wife were sleeping when they heard a loud noise and felt the building vibrate then begin falling down. They were trapped for 12 hours before rescuers found them.

The government’s labour ministry said 30 workers were at the site when the building collapsed, but Nhor Chandeun said there were about 55 to 60 people inside the building.

Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen visited the site late on Sunday. Pictures released by the provincial authorities showed him in front of the collapsed building talking to several government ministers involved in the rescue.

Distraught relatives at a local hospital said around a dozen people were believed to be still entombed in the concertinaed floors of the building.

“I lost my husband and my nephew,” Khim Pov, 47, said while her son – who was able to crawl out from the debris – received treatment. “I don’t have any hope my husband has survived. The bodies being pulled out have been flattened.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Earthmovers clear debris in Sihanoukville. Photograph: Sun Rethy Kun/AFP/Getty Images

The Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that Seng Loth, a spokesman for Cambodia’s ministry of land management, planning, and construction, said the collapsed building had been erected without permission.

“It was an unlicensed project, and the provincial authorities had warned the developer twice, but they ignored the warnings,” he told Xinhua.

The Chinese embassy in Phnom Penh released a statement on Monday which said it “supports a thorough investigation of the accident and necessary measures by competent Cambodian authority in accordance with the law”.

It said the embassy was greatly saddened by the collapse and had reached out to Chinese enterprises in Cambodia to mobilise personnel as well as heavy equipment such as excavators to clear the rubble.

Associated Press and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report. </s> At least seven people died Saturday when an under-construction building owned by a Chinese company collapsed at a Cambodian beach resort, officials said, as rescuers scoured the giant rubble heap for survivors.

The building went down before sunrise in the casino-resort town Sihanoukville in southwestern Cambodia, a rapidly developing tourist hotspot awash with Chinese investments.

Four people have been arrested in connection with the accident, including the Chinese building owner, the head of the construction firm and the contractor. A Cambodian landowner has also been held at provincial headquarter for questioning.

The seven-storey building was almost 80 percent complete when it crashed down early Saturday, the deadliest such accident in recent years in Cambodia.

"Now the death toll from the building collapse is seven," Sihanoukville city police chief Thul Phorsda said, after officials earlier pinned the number of dead at three.

At least 21 people were reported injured -- several critically -- and at least three of the dead were Cambodian, including two workers and a translator.

Rescue workers in hard hats pulled people from a mountain of concrete, wood and twisted metal.

Medical workers attended to a shirtless injured man as concerned crowds built up around the site, while scores of soldiers and police joined the search for survivors.

"Teams continue to search for more victims," a provincial official statement said, adding that an investigation into the accident had been launched.

There was no confirmation of precisely how many people were at the building at the time of the collapse, though earlier officials said 30 people were feared trapped.

Around 50 workers would normally have been on the site at the time, Preah Sihanouk governor Yun Min said.

The building belonged to a Chinese national who rented the land from a Cambodian owner. The construction firm and contractor were both Chinese-owned as well.

Sihanoukville was once a sleepy fishing community before being claimed first by Western backpackers, and then wealthy Russians.

Chinese investment has flooded in in recent years, spurring a construction boom in a resort town known for its casinos which pull in mainland tourists.

There are around 50 Chinese-owned casinos and dozens of hotel complexes under construction.

Between 2016 and 2018, $1 billion was invested by Chinese government and private businesses in the Preah Sihanouk province, according to official statistics.

Cambodia, one of Southeast Asia's poorest countries, has notoriously lax safety laws and labour protections. Accidents are common at its building sites. </s> In this photo provided by Cambodia National Police, backhoes work near a site of a collapse in Preah Sihanouk province, Cambodia Saturday, June 22, 2019. A seven-story building under construction collapsed, killing at least a few workers, authorities said. (Cambodia National Police via AP)

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A seven-story building under construction collapsed in Cambodia’s coastal city of Sihanoukville early Saturday, killing seven workers and injuring 21, authorities said.

Provincial authorities said in a statement that four Chinese nationals involved in the construction have been detained while an investigation into the collapse is carried out.

Rescue work at the site was underway to find out if any more workers were trapped in the rubble, said the city police chief, Maj. Thul Phorsda.

The Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training said that 30 workers were at the site when the building tumbled around 4 a.m.Police and provincial authorities said they were unsure how many people were working on the building.

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the collapse.

Yun Min, the governor of Preah Sihanouk province, said the building was owned by a Chinese investor who leased land for a condominium — one of many Chinese projects in the thriving beach resort.

Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said on his official Facebook page that the Cambodian workers were using the unfinished structure as their sleeping quarters. The building was about 70% to 80% completed.
A seven-story building collapses in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, killing at least 28 people and wounding 25 others.