At least six people were injured in a fire at the 18-storey Genting Crown casino in Poipet city, in Banteay Meanchey province on Monday night.

Five of the injured were Cambodian while the sixth was a Chinese national, provincial police chief Art Khem said on Tuesday.

He said the fire started at around 9:35pm on Monday night and was believed to have been caused by an electrical malfunction in a lift on the fourth floor of the building.

“Six people were injured and sent to the Dei Thmei referral hospital, but no one was killed in the incident. The injured suffered smoke inhalation, while some equipment was damaged,” he said.

A report on Tuesday said the amount of damage was yet to be assessed. A witness said the fire was caused by an electrical malfunction in the elevator.

Khem said the blaze was finally extinguished at around 2pm on Tuesday afternoon using 10 fire engines, seven of which belonged to provincial police while three were owned by the casino.

“Six people were hurt. One Chinese national suffered a leg injury and five Cambodian employees suffocated due to too much smoke."

“All of them are now out of the hospital. The fire took place outside the elevator on the fourth floor and did not affect the rest of the building,” Poipet city police chief Um Sophal told The Post.

The casino is owned by Okhna Kok An, the chairman of Anco Brothers Co, Sophal added. An could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Prak Poly, the director of the provincial department of land management, and Seng Lot, a spokesman for the Ministry of Land Management, could also not be reached.