Pub inferno leaves 59 dead
- By: Bangkok Post
- Published: 2/01/2009 at 09:03 AM
Police are looking for clues into what started the fire at the Santika pub in the first seconds of the New Year, leaving 59 dead and at least 243 injured.
Firefighters and rescue workers remain on duty after the blaze was brought under control early yesterday morning. APICHIT JINAKUL
The blaze broke out in the early hours of yesterday while some 1,000 revellers were celebrating New Year's Eve and bidding farewell to the pub, which was to be closed after the "Goodbye Santika" party. The pub's lease was due to expire.
Crime scene investigators and forensic officers were still collecting evidence and trying to identify bodies yesterday. The compound remained off-limits until all legal proceedings were completed.
Police could not reach the pub's owner. Only staff and cashiers were available for questioning.
Deputy national police chief Jongrak Juthanont said the investigation would focus on whether the fire was caused by carelessness or accident.
But Somchai Frendi, a 28-year-old survivor, told investigators the pub had prepared some special-effect fireworks on the stage for the countdown to the New Year.
After the countdown, fireworks reading "Happy New Year" ignited the soundproof ceiling on the second floor and the fire spread to other areas inside the two-storey building, he said.
The Santika pub on Ekamai road was engulfed in flames just after the countdown to 2009. The inferno killed 59 revellers. NANTIKA RUNGWATTANAPAK
There were conflicting accounts among police, who were still trying to discover why the fire led to so many deaths.
The main reason for the high death toll was the lack of safety measures at the pub, which had only one exit door, said Pol Gen Jongrak, who added that police were also checking the building's structure to see if it was built in line with regulations. There was only one fire extinguisher in the pub, he said.
A source at the Metropolitan Police Bureau said the exit door was very narrow, and added there was a backdoor exit, but it was exclusively used by employees.
The source said Santika was illegally opened because it was registered as a night-time food shop, which required it to close at midnight. It could not register as an entertainment venue in 2003 after City Hall enforced zoning in Bangkok, the source said.
National police chief Patcharawat Wongsuwan briefed Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva during his visit to the pub yesterday, and said there were problems with the building and exit doors. The fire spread quickly because of the materials used inside the pub, Pol Gen Patcharawat said.
Justice Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga urged authorities to check all entertainment venues and buildings for safety.
Pol Maj-Gen Chokdee Deeprasetwit, chief of the Metropolitan Police Bureau's fifth division, said police could not assess the damage and identify any wrongdoers at present.
He said most of the deaths occurred when people stampeded as they tried to get out of the pub after the fire started.
Mr Abhisit said the tragedy was a lesson to others to strictly enforce a ban on fireworks and other inflammable devices inside buildings. He questioned authorities on the lax enforcement of safety measures considered necessary for entertainment venues.
The fire started around 12.30am in the 200-square-metre pub. About 10 fire trucks and rescue workers rushed to the scene after the fire was reported to Thong Lor police station, which is responsible for the area.
Firefighters took about one hour to get the blaze under control, but were unable to immediately go inside the pub to help victims due to the smoke and worries about the building collapsing.
The tragedy prompted the pub to post a condolence message on its website.
"We are deeply saddened by this accident which took so many lives and left many more hospitalised. We would like to extend our sincere sympathy to all of you and your families and friends and we pray to God that He will help all of you overcome your pain and suffering quickly," the pub said on its website, (www.santikaclub.com).
Bodies trampled as panicked patrons fled
Apiradee TreerutkuarkulThanawut Santhong survived the Santika pub blaze, but lost three close friends who were with him that night.
Relatives mourn their loved ones killed in the Santika pub fire as the bodies were released from Chulalongkorn hospital yesterday. THITI WANNAMONTHA
It was Mr Thanawut's first visit. After learning that the pub would close after New Year, he and his friends decided to celebrate the New Year countdown there.
He said each guest was given a firecracker to light inside during the countdown. He could smell smoke and saw flames on the ceiling soon after the countdown finished.
At first he thought it was lighting effects, as a band was playing on stage. However, the lights went out 10 minutes later.
"People were in panic after the blackout. The situation became worse as people screamed ‘Fire!' and tried to escape," he said.
Mr Thanawut did not know how he was able to get out. But he remembered patrons crying, screaming and pushing against one another as flames fell from the ceiling onto their hair and clothes.
He stepped over layers of bodies on the floor as he struggled to get out.
Outside, he saw many people who were hurt in the fire. Some had passed out from smoke inhalation.
Chulalongkorn hospital director Adisorn Pattaradul said 13 patients injured in the fire were sent to the hospital for treatment. Two patients, one Thai and one Japanese, were seriously wounded and are in intensive care. They are Keiichi Wada, 25, and Suthilak Samretprasong, 29.
Hazardous chemicals were found in patients' blood, according to a preliminary examination, he said.
Dr Adisorn said all victims sent to the hospital had serious burn wounds on their faces, necks and hands and internal organs. The dead succumbed to suffocation, according to autopsy reports.
However, DNA tests were needed to ascertain the identity of 14 bodies which were burned beyond recognition.
Surasak Yindeedhammakit, father of Smith, one of the 59 victims, said his 21-year-old son went to Santika to celebrate New Year with his friends after finishing exams recently.
He was shocked to get a phone call from his son's classmate at Kasetsart University's faculty of engineering saying that Smith had died in the blaze.
"My son was not a party-goer. I allowed him to go out and have fun with his friends after studying hard, just this once. I never thought something like this would happen to him. He was a good student and I had hoped he would inherit my business after he finished his studies," he said in tears.
He urged police and state agencies involved to find the cause of the fire.
Orawan Youto, who lost her younger brother in the fire, said she did not want to put the blame on the pub operator.
"It's such an unfortunate incident. I'm sure no one wanted this tragedy to happen. I hope that the fire will serve as a lesson to the operator and state agencies involved to be more careful with safety, and provide more emergency exits for patrons," she said.
Suwaree Aksornwan, 47, is the mother of 20-year-old Siriluck, an engineering student at Kasetsart University, who suffered burn injuries in the blaze.
"Working in a hospital, I am familiar with patients coming to the emergency unit. But I am heartbroken to see my daughter now on a respiratory system after the fire," she said.
"I pray that she will survive. That would be the best New Year's gift I could imagine," she said.
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