Bangkok nightclub owner to face charges over New Year's fire

From Wikinews, the free news source you can write!

Thailand

Other stories from Thailand

• 13 December 2009: North Korean weapons seized in Thailand
• 10 November 2009: Ousted Thai PM arrives in Cambodia to take up government post
• 19 October 2009: Insurgent attack in South Thailand injures 24
• 7 October 2009: 40 injured after attacks in Thailand
• 10 August 2009: No tsunamis after two major earthquakes strike islands near India and Japan

...More articles here

Location of Thailand

To write, edit, start or view other articles on Thailand, see the Thailand Portal

Sunday, January 4, 2009

The owner of the Santika Club, site of the 2009 Bangkok nightclub fire, is to be charged along with twelve other directors over the disaster. 62 people were killed and 229 injured by the blaze, thought to have been triggered by New Year fireworks on the stage, although investigations are ongoing.

"I feel very sorry for what had happened. I want to apologise to victims' family members," said Mr Setsawat, the club's owner. The club had just three exits, of which one was known only to staff and another locked. A number of people died in the stampede for the door. There was also only one fire extinguisher and the venue was only licensed as a snack bar closing at midnight.

Setsawat has already been charged with allowing an underage customer into the club after a 17-year-old student's body was recovered from the charred remnants of the club. He now faces further charges of carelessness resulting in death. The charges will be pressed once paperwork has cleared, police have indicated. 31 people remain in critical condition in hospitals.

Sources

• Denis D Gray "Thai police to charge club owner over deadly fire". Associated Press, January 4, 2009
• "Club owner to be charged as Thai fire death toll hits 62: police". Agence France-Presse, January 4, 2009
• "Bangkok: Blaze nightclub had no licence or safety measures". The Telegraph, January 3, 2008
  

Share this:

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable. Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators. Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections. Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.