Fatal nightclub fire in Phuket

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Published: 17 Aug 2012 at 14.33
Online news: Local News

PHUKET Authorities on Saturday will begin work to identify the four people who died in a nightclub blaze early Friday morning in Phuket.

Experts from Bangkok are due to arrive on the resort island to examine the remains of those who perished at the Tiger disco on Bangla Road in Patong.A member of the emergency response team at Patong Hospital, who asked not to be named, said that the four victims were so badly burned that it was not even possible to discern whether they were men or women.Eleven people were injured in the fire at the Tiger Discotheque, a bar and dance club on a street packed with pubs and restaurants.Rescuers carried out four corpses on stretchers covered by tarps in the morning. Beach sandals were scattered among the charred debris.The nationalities of the four victims were not immediately known, said police Maj Gen Chanasit Wattanawarangkun. The injured are four French tourists and seven Thais. An initial investigation indicated sparks from an electricity transformer near the club started the fire after heavy rains caused a brief blackout in parts of the island, Pol Maj Gen Chanasit said."There are four confirmed dead. We believe they are foreign tourists but it's not yet confirmed," Phuket deputy governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada told AFP by telephone.Tomrongsak Boonyarunk, an executive with the Tiger Group which runs the nightclub, told AFP that the venue was officially closed at the time of the fire but about 70-80 people were still inside sheltering from rain."What happened is a force majeure. There were up to three lightning strikes and blackouts before the fire broke out," he said."We fully comply with the law on fire exits. We will not duck responsibility. We are sorry. I've sent staff to hospital to look after the injured people."According to the Phuket News, police and a nightclub employee said the building caught fire around 4 am as the result of an electrical short circuit during torrential rain. The flames were extinguished around dawn.Hospital workers in the seaside resort said the injured included both Thais and foreigners.One badly burned 30-year-old Frenchman was in intensive care, along with a 33-year-old Thai staff member who broke her leg when she jumped out of the burning building, according to officials."Two are in critical condition...

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barryw
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Discussion 10 : 17 Aug 2012 at 23.0810
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Dis #4 - I have lived in Thailand for nearly 20 years. And as far as I know there are no exits from the club from the toilets. That would be highly unusual, wouldn't it? And, having lived in Thailand for so long, I am not surprised that there was no working sprinkler system or, apparently, fire extinguishers. And I am not surprised that nothing was done about that by the authorities. Many, many such places are an accident waiting to happen.
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onlyasking
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Discussion 9 : 17 Aug 2012 at 22.479
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Don't anyone think about the people that have died? All about who's to blame etc etc. RIP and for those in hospital may you have a speedy recovery.

D5 Google night club fires and you will see that night club fires are wide spread and occure frequently. Lets be thankfull that not more people died like in other such fires.
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mphilips
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Discussion 8 : 17 Aug 2012 at 22.428
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We had a fire safety drill at our school shortly after Santika. It was the first and last the school ever had. I told my students to leave their belongings and form up outside the classroom. I then told them to calmly walk down the four flights of stairs in an orderly manner while keeping to the right. One of the Thai fire officers then emerged and started shouting, "Fire! Fire! Run! Run!" Another fire officer was letting off loud smoke grenades in the toilets. Kids were running about everywhere and two got minor injuries from falling on the stairs. Outside, no meeting points, no head counts. Instead, the kids were treated to a display of fire officers jumping through fires and igniting and then turning off gas canisters. The kids and Thai teachers had a great time. The fire officers made some money. The western teachers assumed the standard palm-to-forehead-eyes-down-slow-head-shake that we all know so well.
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drsmith
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Discussion 7 : 17 Aug 2012 at 22.257
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No matter how many innocent people die in Thailand, there will always be more. Thailand is too swallowed in personal greed and corruption to ever give a forthought to the tourists bringing the money that fuels their greed. Thailand is amazing at nothing but greed and corruption these days.
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druryfire
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Discussion 6 : 17 Aug 2012 at 22.026
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Dis 2: They were trying to escape the burning building through a rest room, that doesn't automatically tell us what gender they are now does it?

Dis 1: Closing on time or not, there still would have been a fire. Ok, smaller numbers would have been in the building no doubt. But authorites need to crack down on more than just shuting up shop on time, they need to educate on evacuation, on prevention. I'm guessing, 'only a guess mind', that whatever caught fire was overloaded with all sorts plugged in to begin with. Again, I guess no evacuation plan ever existed or fire estinguishers were in place.

It could just be a freak accident, but this occurs far to often in the same types of venue. It's good to see the response of the Tiger Bar owner, saying they won't duck responsability, so lets get a good outlook on this case and learn from human errors. I hope the bar owner learns something and doesn't try to hide the issues that he clearly has, such as closing time, get closed, don't have 70-80 people still inside.
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Silkpit
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Discussion 5 : 17 Aug 2012 at 21.565
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Disc#3: Spot on > Certainly not politicians, government officials or safety governing bodies <
They care only about self enrichment and ripping of as much as possible in the shortest time possible from both the Thais and all foreginers. Some call it corruption. I call it the mentality which prevails here in Thailand.
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dude2
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Discussion 4 : 17 Aug 2012 at 21.214
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discussion 2: Found in a restroom is a clue to what? You apparently have not spent much time in Thailand or are very naive?
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ricardofel
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Discussion 3 : 17 Aug 2012 at 18.113
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"Concerns about fire safety at Thai nightclubs"...what concerns???? What safety laws are ever enforced in Thailand? Who cares about the safety of patrons? Who cares about any of the people in Thailand? Certainly not politicians, government officials or safety governing bodies....NOBODY!!!! Catastrophes are just waiting to happen again and again, whether tourists die in their hotel rooms or get killed in nightclubs or on highways by irresponsible drivers, etc etc.NOBODY cares!
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barryw
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Discussion 2 : 17 Aug 2012 at 18.092
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"The four dead bodies were burnt beyond recognition. We cannot identify even their gender."
The Phuket News reported that the burned bodies were discovered in the restrooms.
Err, now there's a clue.
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upena
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Discussion 1 : 17 Aug 2012 at 17.561
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Club was operating illegally after hours. If it had closed on time, there would have been no deaths.
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Fatal nightclub fire in Phuket | Bangkok Post: news