A serious fire at a Cambodian casino hotel on the border with Thailand has killed around ten and injured dozens.

A preliminary police report on Thursday spoke of “about” ten dead, and Thai authorities also spoke of around 50 injuries.

Pictures from the scene of the accident in the town of Poipet showed people sheltering from the flames on ledges and window sills of the hotel.

According to the police, the fire broke out around 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday evening at the Grand Diamond City Hotel and Casino.

The Cambodian police initially spoke of around ten dead and 30 injured.

From the neighboring Thai province of Sa Kaeo, it was later said that more than 50 victims of the fire had been hospitalized there.

13 of them are on life support, said Prapas Pookduang of the Thai health authorities.

Sa Kaeo Governor Parinya Phothisat said about 60 other people from the hotel had been screened and released.

A total of 79 Thais, 30 Cambodians and eight Indonesians were examined and treated.

Jump out of the burning hotel

Video footage circulating online showed the hotel on fire and several people apparently jumping out of the burning building.

Photos of the scene of the accident showed people crowding the building's ledges to avoid the flames.

Another picture showed a man sitting on a windowsill on the hotel's exterior, with thick smoke billowing out of the window behind him.

According to preliminary police information, the casino hotel has around 400 employees.

According to media reports, foreign nationals were also in the building at the time of the fire.

A volunteer with Thailand's Ruamkatanyu Foundation rescue organization said the fire started on the first floor of the building and then spread quickly.

The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs said fire engines had also been sent to the hotel from the Thai side.

Citizens of Cambodia, one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia, are officially banned from gambling in casinos.

However, there are numerous casino hotels along the border with Thailand.

Poipet is a popular holiday destination for visitors from neighboring Thailand, where most forms of gambling are illegal.

The lax handling of safety requirements in pubs and other places of entertainment in the region repeatedly triggers criticism.

There have already been two deadly fires in Cambodia's neighboring countries of Thailand and Vietnam this year.

In August, a fire at a Thai nightclub killed 26 and injured dozens more.

In September, 32 people died in a fire at a karaoke bar in southern Vietnam.