A Nepali national was killed in a fire that broke out at the Poipet-based Grand Diamond City Casino and Hotel located near the Cambodia-Thailand border.

40-year-old Nirakar Pandey was among the 27 people who lost their lives in the fire that broke out in the early hours of Thursday.

President of Non-Resident Nepali Association Cambodia Lal Singh Khadka said he had reached the incident site after learning of the incident.

“Preparations are underway to send Pandey’s body back to Nepal through the Thailand-based Nepal Embassy,” said Khadka.

The situation of other Nepali citizens said to be employed at the casino is still unknown.

Khaga Raj Pandey, first secretary of the Embassy of Nepal in Bangkok, along with other representatives had also reached the site of the incident.

“We are working on sending the body back to Nepal in coordination with them,” added Khadka.

Pandey, a local resident of Birtamod-1 in Jhapa, made a video call to his family via Viber to inform them of the situation. In the video call that has gone viral on social media, Pandey has been heard telling his family that he is trapped on the twelfth floor and has no other option than to jump off the building. Pandey’s family had requested him to stay in the building and wait for help to arrive.

In the heart-wrenching video, Pandey addresses his son, “My dear son, you’re the apple of my eye. Dad will always love you. Wherever you go, in whatever situation you find yourself, I will always remember you.”

Pandey also advises his son to be honest and respectful and requests him to love all those around him.

According to Khadka, Pandey had arrived in Cambodia only a month ago. He had previously spent three months in the country before returning to Nepal.

Many casualties were caused due to the doors being automatically operated, which were rendered useless when the electricity supply was cut off during the fire breakout, trapping the customers in their rooms, the local authorities said.

About 400 employees and patrons were in the Grand Diamond City casino and hotel in Poipet, a town on the Thai border, when the fire broke out, leaving the building gutted by the afternoon.

People, who had been trapped inside their rooms, resorted to jumping off the building to save themselves from the fire.

Rescue teams said they had to move slowly through the smouldering remains of the building in case it collapsed.

Although local authorities suspect an electrical short circuit to be the reason that caused the tragedy, it is still unconfirmed. A government committee has been set up to investigate the cause.