Many killed in Chon Buri pub fire

[reader]

NOTE -- The number of dead 1s reported between 13 and 17 by various news agencies.

From Pattaya Mail

A late-night fight at a Sattahip nightclub killed 17 people and injured about 40, several of them underage teenagers.

The inferno at the Mountain B Pub on Sukhumvit Road in Sattahip District began near the ceiling, which was covered in highly flammable soundproofing foam. A rear-exit was locked, leaving only one way out the firetrap. Videos showed people fleeing the building, their bodies on fire.

Nine men and four women died in the fire, including three minors not legally allowed to be in the bar. The victims were identified only by their first names as Kornwit, 17; Promporn, 18; Watinee, 19; Warakul, 32; Somrat, 31;, Surakan, 35; Natthida, 28; Jetsadaporn, 20; Wiriya, 31, Rangsiman, 30; Chatchai, 30, Nuttakorn, 49, and Sawitta, 39.

Witnesses said they heard two explosions near the DJ booth as the three-rai entertainment complex with only one entrance and saw sparks that ignited the soundproofing foam. The flames spread quickly from there.

Twenty fire engines from around the area responded to the blaze in the Plutaluang Subdistrict. Firefighters spent two hours battling the flames. Once the fire was out, they found 13 charred bodies inside, some dead from the fire, some from smoke inhalation or being trampled.

Mountain B opened only a month ago and was popular with youths in the East with management obviously paying little heed to checking ID cards to ensure everyone was over age 20.

The fire there shows how little has changed in Thailand’s nightclubs since the Santika nightclub fire in Bangkok on New Year’s Eve 2008. Sixty-six people died and more than 200 others were injured in that blaze that was supposed to prompt improved fire safety and inspection in the country’s bars, pubs and nightclubs.

Many of those injured suffered severe burns.

[PeterRS]

How dreadful! The more so considering how young some of the deceased were. Even at this early stage it seems perfectly clear that the fire department - or whichever one is responsible for ensuring fire regulations about materials used inside public premises meet fire safety standards - completely failed in their duty as far as granting premises a license to operate is concerned. Anyone who has been in the entertainment business knows only too well that cheap insulation material can be highly flammable. Sadly TIT! 

As has been said before, the fear for the gay community must continue to be Silom Soi 2. If there is a fire in DJ Station or any of the other venues in that soi, its tiny entrance is certain to cause panic if large numbers are trying to get out. It will be worse if, as was discovered some years ago, DJ Station's one back exit was padlocked shut!

[reader]

From Thai PBS World

15 now dead in Chon Buri pub blaze, fire exits all locked from the outside

While the death toll from the fire in the Chon Buri pub early Friday morning has increased to 15 today (Saturday), Suvadee Suetrong, a representative of the Mountain B pub’s owner, claims that there were three fire exits, but she didn’t know that they had all been locked from the outside, as she insisted that the proprietor is ready to compensate relatives of the dead and injured.

The pub, which is located on the Bang Na-Trat highway in Sattahip district of Chon Buri, caught fire during the early hours of Friday, initially killing 13 customers and injuring dozens in one of Thailand’s deadliest night venue fires. The pub was found to have been illegally modified, operating beyond permitted hours and with only one way in and out.

Two more of the seriously injured were pronounced dead yesterday and today.

Suvadee claimed that the owner, whom she did not name, was in the pub at the time of the fire and he, as well as other employees, had tried to help customers to get out of the burning pub.

The five officers transferred to the special operations centre of Chon Buri provincial police are the superintendent, Pol Col Wuttipong Somjai, his two deputies, Pol Lt-Col Somsak Ruying and Pol Lt-Col Torwong Sakkulawong, Pol Maj Somaya Chusukphonyiam, the inspector for crime suppression, and Pol Lt-Col Yutthana Songkrasant, the inspector of investigations.

The abrupt transfers are believed to be a punishment for their alleged failures, by allowing the Mountain B pub to operate beyond midnight.

On the same day, the district chief officer of Sattahip district, Chatchai Sripoon, was moved to the Institute of Administration Development under the Provincial Administration Department.

She added that all of them had reported to Phlu Ta Luang police station.

Regarding the three exits, Suvadee said that new customers were unaware of them, as she insisted that all three exits were normally unlocked and that she does not understand why they were locked from the outside that night.

Suvadee admitted that she had no idea that the pub did not have the required permissions, because she was not responsible for that matter, adding that there is only one owner.

The premises were divided into a restaurant, a bar-b-q restaurant and the pub.

The bodies of 14 of the victims are being kept at the Central Police Forensic Science Division at the Police General Hospital for autopsy, which will take up to 2 days to complete, after which their relatives can claim them for their funerals.

Relatives of some of the victims gathered in front of the damaged pub this morning to perform a religious ritual to bless the souls of the dead.

Meanwhile, yesterday, Pol Maj-Gen Attasit Kitjaharn, commander of Chon Buri provincial police, ordered the immediate transfer of five senior police officers attached to the Phlu Ta Luang police station over the deadly fire.

 

[reader]

Bangkok shutters 83 pubs after fire safety inspections

From The Nation

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said he had ordered inspections of entertainment venues in every district of the capital.

Eighty-three of the 400 Bangkok venues inspected have been shuttered after inspectors found problems with fire exits and escape routes.

Chadchart, an engineer by profession, said escape routes should be obvious and clearly signposted to aid victims’ chance of survival in dangerous situations.

He ordered further inspections in a bid to weed out Bangkok entertainment venues that are operating illegally.

Chadchart said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration will ensure thorough inspections across the city.

[Lonnie]

9 hours ago, reader said:

proprietor is ready to compensate relatives of the dead and injured.

Would never be enough if the exits were locked. Do they have life in prison in Thailand?

[alvnv]

57 minutes ago, Lonnie said:

Do they have life in prison in Thailand?

Yes, and I hear it’s quite lively: 

Jokes aside, Thailand has both, life sentence and death penalty

[reader]

From Bangkok Post

Mountain B pub owner detained, confesses charges

CHON BURI: The owner of Mountain B pub is under detention at a police station after he reported to police on Saturday night. His lawyer said his client had confessed to all charges.

Pongsiri Panprasong, 27, reported to Phlu Ta Luang police. He was promptly escorted into the police station building without talking to meda gathered outside.

The detention took place soon after the Pattaya Provincial Court signed an arrest warrant for him on the following two charges.

• Negligent acts that cause the death of other persons
• Operating a nightspot without permission

Mr Pongsiri was taken to the cells at the police station after hours of interrogations with no bail allowed by the police.

Lawyer Anucha Wongsrisat said his client had confessed to the charges and he will request bail approval from the court on Monday by depositing 1 million baht in cash as surety.

[reader]

From Bangkok Post

PATTAYA: The Pattaya Provincial Court on Monday approved the conditional release on bail of the owner of Mountain B pub, where a fire claimed 15 lives and injured 38 other people early Friday morning. Pongsiri...

Please credit and share this article with others using this link:https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2364031/deadly-blaze-pub-owner-gets-bail. View our policies at http://goo.gl/9HgTd and http://goo.gl/ou6Ip. © Bangkok Post PCL. All rights reserved.

Police took him from Phu Ta Luang police station in Sattahip district of Chon Buri, where he has been held since Saturday, to the court in Pattaya, where they applied to detain him for another 12 days...

Please credit and share this article with others using this link:https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2364031/deadly-blaze-pub-owner-gets-bail. View our policies at http://goo.gl/9HgTd and http://goo.gl/ou6Ip. © Bangkok Post PCL. All rights reserved.

 

[reader]

From The Thaiger

Death toll rises to 16

The Mountain B tragedy continues as another person injured in the fire dies in hospital. A 23 year old man identified as Sittichai Ouilert died at Chon Buri hospital at 10.21pm yesterday, after he was caught in the fire which swept through a Chon Buri nightclub on Thursday night.

A total of 13 people died at the scene in the Sattahip district and three people have since died from their injuries in hospital, according to the Chon Buri Provincial Public Health Office.

Of the 42 people injured in the fire, nine people have returned home. Of the 30 people still receiving treatment in hospital, 16 are still on ventilators to help them breathe, according to the Chon Buri Provincial Public Health Office.

[PeterRS]

I find it unbelievable that the 27-year old owner of the club was freed on bail of 300,000 baht although he has to wear an ankle monitoring bracelet. Just 300,000 baht when more than a dozen have been killed due to his negligence? The police opposed bail. So who was paid off is my first assumption. And will he ever return to the court?

[reader]

From The Thaiger

Death tolls rises to 17

Another person injured in the Mountain B fire died in hospital this morning, raising the total death toll of the tragedy to 17. The blaze which swept through the nightclub in Sattahip district, Chon Buri province, happened a week ago today.

Lt. Cl. Palitdet Chumngern, a marine in the Royal Thai Navy, died at 7.54am this morning at Sririraj Hospital, according to the Chon Buri Provincial Public Relations Office.

[reader]

From Thai PBS World

17-year-old becomes 18th victim to die

An 18th person has died in the tragic Chon Buri pub fire, this time a young girl of 17 called Mind, who had been on life support in the hospital since the night of the fire.  “Mind” was the third minor to die in the fire, after a 17 year old and an 18 year old (a friend of Mind’s) were found dead inside the club after the fire. The legal age to be in a bar or club in Thailand is 20 and the owners say they don’t know how underage people were able to get inside the pub.

A week after a deadly fire ripped through the Mountain B Pub in the Sattahip district of Chon Buri, 27 patrons that night are still in the hospital. Of those, 10 are in serious condition and require ventilators. There were originally 41 reported injuries, though it was later revised to 38 in the hospital immediately after the fire. 13 people died inside the club, while over the next few hours and days five more people have now died in the hospital.