Thai nightclub fire kills at least 13, cause unknown
ReutersAugust 5, 2022 12:57am
BANGKOK – At least 13 people were killed and 35 injured when a fire broke out at a nightclub in Thailand’s eastern Chonburi province early on Friday, a police official said.
The cause of the fire is still unknown and all victims so far have been identified as Thai nationals, police said. A separate statement from the Chonburi emergency service described 14 of the injuries as severe.
The fire at the Mountain B nightclub, about 111 miles southeast of the capital Bangkok, started at about 1:00 a.m. local time, Wuttipong Somjai, a superintendent at a local police station, told Reuters by phone.
Firefighters work to contain a fire at the Mountain B nightclub in Sattahip district in Thailand’s Chonburi province on Aug. 5, 2022.Sawang Rojanathammasathan Rescue
Rescue workers search inside the Mountain B nightclub after a fire occurred in the Sattahip district in Thailand’s Chonburi province.Sawang Rojanathammasathan Rescue
Chalit Chotisupakarn, a survivor of the Mountain B nightclub fire, speaks to authorities outside the destroyed venue.AFP via Getty ImagesLocal TV footage showed people fleeing the fire and emergency workers putting out flames and looking through the burnt-out premises, with shoes and bottles strewn across the ground.
A witness who went by the name Nana told local TV she was with five friends when the fire broke out at the venue.
00:0401:14
“I saw flames above the stage, on the right side. I think it was about the same time at the singer on stage saw it too and he shouted ‘fire!’ and threw the mic at it,” she told broadcaster PPTV. “I saw a lot of the pub’s bouncers covered in fire inside.”
Major fire damage fills the interior at the Mountain B pub in the Sattahip district of Chonburi province.AP
The fire has killed at least 13, according to Thai officials.Sawang Rojanathammasathan RescueThe incident comes 13 years after pyrotechnics started a blaze at a New Year’s party at the crowded Santika nightclub in Bangkok, killing 66 people. Investigations into that fire found several key breaches at the club, official corruption and revealed lax attitudes towards safety at entertainment venues at the time.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Friday assured victims’ families they would receive help from authorities and urged entertainment venues nationwide to ensure they have proper emergency exits and safety measures in place.
Forensic officers enter the Mountain B nightclub where at least 35 were injured.REUTERS
The nightclub’s facade was significantly charred following the deadly fire in Thailand’s Chonburi province.AFP via Getty Images