UNCONVENTIONAL WORLD RECORDS

UPDATE 1 Feb 2009

People have not learnt. The BBC reported that at least 15 people have died in a fire at a bar in China, believed caused by fireworks started by a group of people celebrating a birthday.

At least 20 people others injured, 3 seriously.

UPDATE 4th January 2009

Main shareholder of the club, Thai-Chinese Wisuth Setsawat cried as he apologised to the families of victims.

Death toll: 62
Injured: about 250, 30 critical
Number of people inside during incident: up to 1,000
Operator of club: White & Brothers Co.
Club owner: Suriya Ritrabue

When fire broke out, the club plunged into darkness (no emergency lights) & the burning ceiling collapsed.

Club did not have police permit to operate. An application sent 5 years ago was not approved because “the building wasn’t ready”, but still it opened because of a court appeal and even now, the courts has not issued a ruling.

———————–

This is possibly the worst disaster related to new year revelry ever recorded since 1956′s 124 deaths at Yahiko Shrine, Niigata, Japan.

More than 60 clubbers, mostly Thais with some foreigners have been confirmed dead at Santika, an upscale Bangkok nightspot when fire reportedly started around 12.30am, 1st January 2009 when the band set off fireworks / pyrotechnics which set ablaze a curtain located on the ceiling which then rapidly spread. Still others said it was caused by an electrical fault.

Having said that, the general consensus was that the blame fell squarely on the nightclub’s management, because:
- there were none, or at least insufficient fire exits
- there was no sprinkler system

The deaths were caused by either fire, smoke inhalation or being trampled upon.

Witnesses described shocking scenes of people with their hairs and clothes on fire desperately trying to escape.

Santika before fire:

Santika after fire:

Apparently most of the dead were found near the stage:

The fateful night’s program featured on the nightclub’s website was unnervingly prophetic: “Goodbye Santika”, with a fire animation on the bottom right:

That night the following people were playing:

User “msethisuwan” took the following video taken near the carnage around 1am, showing some of the injured being attended to by paramedics. There’s even one guy who apparently wanted to go back inside the burning club. [warning: some images might be disturbing]

Someone else took a video further away:

The following is a promo video on the club for an event sometime 2008. From there you could see what it was like inside when it’s packed:

As for who should be blamed, a Mr Jim Burns wrote succintly thus:

The Thai system is to blame for allowing greedy businessmen to bribe those in authority. Until Thailand grows up and shows itself to be a responsible nation only then will venues like the Santika Club be answerable to a proper health and safety executive.

I have worked on some huge construction projects in Thailand and have to admit it is one of the worst countries for cutting corners. Yes folks, I have seen material quality compromised just so that contractor bosses can slip a few hundred Baht in their back pockets. I have seen fire breaks in large hotels left out because someone conveniently forgot to fit them.

I hear the Thai authorities are eager to find out how this fire started. When the answer is found will they turn their attention towards the most important issue, why did so many people die and how do we prevent it happening again. I doubt it.

Now here’s the really sad part. A few strategically placed sprinkler heads would have bought enough time for most to escape the Santika fire. Cost, probably less than 10% of the fancy furnishings budget. This is a perfect example of Thai mentality and those who have lived and worked in Thailand for any length of time will know exactly what I mean.

My sincere condolences to all those who are suffering loss of their loved ones.

Jim Burns

You can get the latest list of deaths / injured by calling +(66) 2 381 2285 or +(66) 2 381 3930 ext 7015-6.

As for the rest of us probably the best lesson is a comment by “ela1978x” in one of the videos:

My grandfather was a fireman. He would always say to me if you’re ever in a nightclub, look for the fire exit. Now I know why.

Sources
The Star, 1 Jan 2009
Bangkok Post, 1 Jan 2009

… the Fireproof movie could be a good choice to watch after this …

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