A deadly fire broke out in the early hours of Friday at a nightclub in Thailand.
At around one in the morning on Friday, a fire broke out at the Mountain B nightclub in the Sattahip district of Chonburi province, which is located about 90 miles southeast of Bangkok. A rescue service broadcast video of panicked clubgoers running from the building while screaming and with their garments on fire. The investigation into the catastrophic fire that ripped through a nightclub and claimed at least 14 lives has been ordered by Thailand’s prime minister.
There were around 40 injuries, according to the Sawang Rojanathammasathan Rescue Foundation, and 14 fatalities. According to the agency, flammable acoustic foam on the club walls intensified the fire, and it took firefighters more than three hours to put it out. The incident occurred during a live music performance, and burn casualties ranged from “moderate to serious,” according to police colonel Wuttipong Somjai.
He said that all of the deceased were Thai nationals. According to rescue workers, the youngest casualty so far has been a 17-year-old.
Local artist Raphon Namtham said the thailand nightclub debuted two months ago and quickly gained popularity with the neighborhood for its live band performances, which were held there every night from 12 a.m. to 1 a.m. He added, “Clients come to drink and dance. Although he wasn’t there when the fire started, he claimed that people could enter and leave the club only through the front door.
According to him, musicians would use the rear door, which would be locked during concerts, to enter and escape. The nightclub’s ceiling was lined with highly combustible acoustic panels, he added.
Engineers are assessing the structure out of concern that it could collapse while police are looking into whether fire exits were provided in the one-story building. According to Sompong Chingduang, assistant commissioner of the Royal Thai police, the owner is being looked into for allegedly converting the location without authorization from a restaurant to a nightclub. Long-standing worries have been expressed regarding Thailand’s inadequate enforcement of health and safety laws, particularly in the country’s numerous pubs and nightclubs.
In 2012, four people were killed in a fire caused by an electrical fault at a club on the island of Phuket, a magnet for foreign tourists.
