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 Friday, a police official said.
The cause of the fire is still unknown and all victims have so far been identified as Thai nationals, police said. A separate statement from Chonburi’s emergency service described 14 of the injuries as serious.
The fire at the Mountain B nightclub, about 111 miles southeast of the capital Bangkok, started around 1:00 a.m. local time, Wutipong Somjai, a local police chief, told Reuters by telephone.
Rescuers search the Mountain B nightclub after a fire broke out in Sattahip district in Thailand’s Chonburi province. Sawang Rojanathammasathan Rescue
Local television footage showed people fleeing the fire and emergency workers dousing flames and examining the burned premises, with shoes and bottles strewn on the ground.
A witness named Nana told local television that she was with five friends when the fire broke out in the restaurant.
“I saw flames above the stage, on the right side. I think it was around the same time that the singer on stage also saw him and shouted ‘fire!’ and threw the microphone at him,” she told broadcaster PPTV. “I saw many of the pub beaters on fire inside.”
The fire has killed at least 13, according to Thai authorities. Sawang Rojanathammasathan Rescue
The incident comes 13 years after pyrotechnics started a fire at a New Year’s party at the crowded Santika nightclub in Bangkok, killing 66 people. Investigations into this fire uncovered several key violations at the club, corruption among officials, and revealed a lax attitude to safety at the entertainment venues at the time.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Friday assured the families of the victims that they would receive help from the authorities and called on entertainment venues across the country to ensure they have adequate emergency exits and safety measures.
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