At least 13 killed, dozens injured as fire engulfs nightclub
At least 13 people
have been killed and 35 injured after a fire broke out in the early hours of
Friday at a nightclub in Thailand,
police said.
The fire broke out at
around 1 a.m. at the Mountain B nightclub, a one-story building in the Sattahip
district of Chonburi province, southeast of Bangkok and about 30
kilometres (18 miles) south of Pattaya City, a popular tourist resort
destination, Thai police said.
Police Colonel
Wuttipong Somjai told CNN that the fire took place during live music
performance and burn injuries ranged from "mild to
serious."
All those who died
were Thai nationals, he confirmed. Rescue officials said one of those dead was
a 17-year-old, the youngest fatality identified so far.
Col. Somjai said
investigations into the cause of the fire were now underway.
Nattanit Pikulkaew
said she was at the nightclub to celebrate her brother's birthday and was near
the front of the stage when a woman ran in shouting that the roof was on fire.
Seconds later, she saw
that the speakers on stage were in flames.
"Within no time,
the fire had spread to the ceiling," she told CNN, adding that as members
of the audience tried to flee the entrance to the club became jammed.
"I saw people
trying to break the glass walls but they were too thick," she said.
Her brother suffered
severe burns and is in critical condition; his friend died inside the
building.
Raphon Namtham, a
local musician who regularly performs at the nightclub on Monday evenings, told
CNN the venue opened two months ago and had become popular with locals for its
live band performances, which took place nightly from 12 a.m. to 1 a.m.
"Customers come to drink and dance," he said.
He was not at the
nightclub when the fire broke out but said the front door was the only entry
and exit point for customers.
Musicians would enter
and exit via the back door, which would be locked during performances, he said.
He added that the
nightclub's ceiling was lined with acoustic panels which were highly
inflammable.
Namtham said the band
Taew Waew had been performing at the time of the fire and that its replacement
singer and keyboardist were among those who had died. He said the drummer was
on a ventilator for life support at a nearby hospital.
Photos by a local
search operation Rescue Sattahip showed badly charred seats inside the venue.
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