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Death Toll Increases to 24 in Cambodia Building Collapse


FILE - A rescue team searches for trapped workers at a collapsed building that was under construction in Kep, Cambodia, Jan. 3, 2020.
FILE - A rescue team searches for trapped workers at a collapsed building that was under construction in Kep, Cambodia, Jan. 3, 2020.

The death toll has risen to at least 24 and 23 more people are listed as injured in the collapse of a building in Cambodia that trapped workers under rubble, officials said Sunday.

The seven-story concrete building collapsed Friday in the coastal town of Kep, about 160 km (100 miles) southwest of Phnom Penh. It occurred a year after another construction site collapsed,
killing 28 people in Preah Sihanouk province.

"Twenty-four people have died so far," Kep Governor Ken Satha told Reuters. "Three of the bodies are not yet at hospital. They have not been pulled out yet."

An unknown number of workers remained trapped, Satha said,
adding that authorities had detained a Cambodian couple, the
owners of the building, for questioning.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said Saturday that rescuers were still struggling to reach those missing in the rubble.

Cambodia is undergoing a construction boom to serve growing
crowds of Chinese tourists and investors.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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