The story of Nirakar Pandey, a 40-year-old man from Birtamod in Nepal’s Jhapa district, remains one of the most heartbreaking accounts to emerge from the devastating Grand Diamond City Hotel and Casino fire in Poipet, Cambodia.
Pandey was among those killed when a massive blaze swept through the hotel-casino complex near the Cambodia-Thailand border in December 2022. Trapped on the 12th floor as smoke and flames spread through the building, he remained in contact with relatives in Nepal during his final hours.
What made his death particularly painful for his family was that they were able to speak with him while he was trapped. Among the people he reached during those final moments was his young son, Arman Subha Pandey, to whom he delivered a deeply personal message of love, encouragement and guidance.
A Family’s Desperate Wait for Rescue
Pandey had traveled to Thailand on November 7, 2022, and later went to Cambodia during his trip. His family said he was staying at the Grand Diamond City Hotel and Casino in Poipet when the fire broke out during the night.
As the blaze intensified, Pandey found himself trapped on the 12th floor.
His relatives in Nepal learned of his situation and remained in contact with him through video calls. His elder brother, Niraj Pandey, later described how family members tried to keep him calm while they waited for rescuers to reach the upper floors.
The calls continued for hours.
Family members urged Pandey to remain where he was and wait for help. They believed rescuers would eventually reach him, even as smoke continued entering his room and conditions inside the building deteriorated.
Reports from the time said Pandey showed his relatives the scene outside from his room, where emergency personnel and crowds could be seen below. The family remained hopeful that he would be rescued.
But the rescue effort could not reach him in time.
The Decision That Changed His Family Forever
As the fire continued spreading and the situation became increasingly dangerous, Pandey eventually made the desperate decision to leave his room through a window.
He jumped from the 12th floor in an attempt to escape the flames and smoke. He did not survive.
Contemporary reports consistently described the jump as an attempt to save himself from the fire rather than an intentional act of self-harm.
For his family, the tragedy was made even more difficult by the fact that they had been speaking with him throughout the crisis.
Niraj later recalled that relatives repeatedly reassured Pandey that help would arrive. They waited with him through the long and frightening hours, hoping that the rescue operation would reach the upper floors.
It never did.
His Last Message to His Son
Perhaps the most enduring part of Pandey’s story is the message he left for his young son.
During a video conversation recorded while he remained trapped inside the burning building, Pandey spoke directly to Arman. His words were not focused solely on his own fear. Instead, he expressed his love for his child and offered advice about how he should live his life.
Reports published at the time said Pandey told his son that he loved him and urged him to become a good person, remain honest, care for his mother and family, and help others.
For the family, the recording became a painful but precious final connection with him.
The circumstances surrounding the message made his words particularly powerful. While facing an increasingly dangerous situation, Pandey was still thinking about the future of his child.
His final advice became part of the family’s memory of him—not simply as a victim of a devastating fire, but as a father trying to guide his son during what would become the last moments of his life.
A Father Remembered by His Family
Pandey’s death left behind his son, wife, parents, brothers and other relatives.
His family described him as hardworking and good-hearted. A neighbor, Shiva Shankar Thapa, also remembered him as a hardworking and kind person from childhood.
For his loved ones, the tragedy was therefore about far more than the circumstances of the Cambodian fire.
It was the sudden loss of a father, husband, son and brother.
His young son would grow up carrying memories of a father whose final recorded words were centered on love, responsibility and becoming a good human being.
That message has given the story an emotional significance that continues to resonate years after the tragedy.
The Grand Diamond City Fire
The Grand Diamond City Hotel and Casino fire became one of the deadliest disasters in Poipet in December 2022.
The complex, located near the Cambodia-Thailand border, contained both hotel and casino facilities. A large number of employees and visitors were inside when the fire began.
People became trapped in different parts of the building as smoke and flames spread. Some people on upper floors attempted to escape by jumping from windows, while rescue teams worked to reach those still inside.
At the time, authorities were investigating the cause of the fire. An electrical short circuit was among the possibilities mentioned by local officials, but it was not immediately confirmed.
Pandey was one of the Nepali nationals caught up in the disaster.
Bringing Nirakar Pandey Home
Following Pandey’s death, his family faced another painful ordeal: bringing his remains back to Nepal.
Identification and documentation procedures delayed the repatriation process. Nepalese authorities, the Embassy of Nepal in Bangkok and other organizations worked to facilitate the return.
Nepal’s government also directed officials to assist the family.
In January 2023, Pandey’s remains were finally brought back to Jhapa. Reports said the body arrived at his home in Birtamod Municipality-1, where thousands of relatives, neighbors and well-wishers gathered to pay their respects.
The return allowed his family and community to finally hold funeral rites and say goodbye.
A Hometown Grieves
News of Pandey’s death deeply affected Birtamod and the surrounding Jhapa community.
He was known locally, and his death brought friends, neighbors and well-wishers together in mourning.
The arrival of his remains was therefore more than a private family moment. It became an occasion for the wider community to express its sympathy and respect.
For those who had known Pandey personally, the tragedy served as a reminder of how quickly an ordinary journey could turn into an unimaginable disaster.
A Story That Continues to Be Remembered
Years after the Grand Diamond City fire, Pandey’s story remains memorable because of the extraordinary circumstances surrounding his final hours.
There were the hours spent waiting for rescue.
There were the calls between Cambodia and Nepal.
There was the desperate attempt to escape the burning building.
And there was the final message to his son.
Of all those moments, his words to Arman have become perhaps the most enduring part of his story.
His message was ultimately about the values he wanted his child to carry forward: love, honesty, kindness, respect for family and helping others.
Those values became part of the legacy he left behind.
A Father’s Legacy Lives Through His Son
Nirakar Pandey’s life was cut short at 40, but his influence did not end with his death.
His family continues to carry his memory, while his son carries the words his father left for him during those final hours.
A parent’s legacy can take many forms. Sometimes it is found in photographs and family stories. Sometimes it is preserved in traditions and memories. In Pandey’s case, one of the clearest pieces of that legacy is a final message recorded during an unimaginable crisis.
He wanted his son to grow into a good person.
He wanted him to care for his family.
He wanted him to help others and avoid hurting or deceiving people.
Those words remain a powerful reminder of what mattered most to him.
Final Tribute to Nirakar Pandey
Nirakar Pandey was one of the victims of the Grand Diamond City Hotel and Casino fire in Poipet, Cambodia, but his story is remembered for more than the tragedy that claimed his life.
He was a father who continued thinking about his son while trapped in a burning building. He was a husband, son, brother and friend whose sudden death left an enormous void in his family.
His final hours were marked by fear and uncertainty, but also by an unmistakable expression of love.
His remains eventually returned to Jhapa, where his family and thousands of mourners gathered to pay their respects.
Today, the memory of Nirakar Pandey lives on most meaningfully through the people he loved and the values he tried to pass to his son.
His life was tragically shortened, but his final message continues to tell a different part of his story—a story about a father whose thoughts, even in the face of unimaginable danger, remained with his family.
May Nirakar Pandey rest in peace, and may his family continue to find strength in the love, memories and final words he left behind.