Orders second probe in to Chon Buri blaze
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has purchased another investigation into the Chon Buri bar fire that murdered 14 people plus injured 36 others after an initial probe found the institution had been illegally altered and operated.
The inferno started at about 1am on Friday at the customer-packed Mountain W pub, according to police.
Ten men and four ladies died in the fire, all of them local residents, police said.
Four charred bodies were discovered behind the front door of the one-storey creating, three in a men’s restroom, one at a DJ booth and five at a cashier’s booth, police stated, adding another target later died in hospital.
Mountain B addresses an area of three or more rai along Sukhumvit Road in the province’s Sattahip district.
The blaze is reminiscent of the Santika pub fire in Bangkok, which usually occurred during a Jan 1, 2009 New Year’s Eve countdown. Sixty-six people were murdered and more than 200 others were hurt then.
Gen Prayut on Friday expressed sympathy for the victims from the Mountain B bar fire. He said he has instructed authorities to inspect the damage plus take care of the wounded and the relatives of the dead.
“Authorities have been ordered to find the cause of the incident and bring the culprit in for consequence, ” he said. “This incident is similar to the Santika bar fire in Bangkok. ”
He also pressured the need for pub workers to comply with rules and regulations governing the construction and modification of buildings.
“The Interior Ministry, provincial governors and police have also been purchased to make sure similar occurrences do not occur later on, ” he stated.
Inner surface Minister Anupong Paojinda said the initial übung found Mountain M did not have a pub licence and it was built in an area exactly where entertainment venues were prohibited.
“Officials are checking the details of the building, which includes design, construction components used, control techniques and fire leaves, ” he stated. “I told these to find the cause of the fire and [identify] the folks responsible for it. ”
Pol Maj Gen Atthasit Kitjahan, commander associated with Chon Buri law enforcement, said Mountain B was licensed to use as an eatery but had been illegally altered and used as an entertainment place.
He mentioned the building was nearly completely destroyed — with its interior framework, decoration, soundproofing, stage and ceiling ceramic tiles engulfed by the blaze. Investigators have asked the staff, owner, eyewitnesses and an electrician recently employed to repair the building’s power system, this individual said.
Pol Maj Gen Chaipoj Suwanrak, deputy commander of the Provincial Police Region 2, said another probe found that simply no circuit breaker has been installed in the bar and there were only two fire extinguishers — which was disproportionate to the pub’s area.
Pongsiri Panprasong, the 27-year-old pub owner, said it opened about two months ago and he submitted a request to operate as a bar on June thirteen.
Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt on Friday said he had instructed city officials to step-up the inspection associated with nightlife outlets over the capital as a preventive measure amid vacationers returning to visit.