Thailand’s prime minister has ordered an investigation into a massive fire that ripped through a nightclub and killed at least 14 people.
The fire broke out around 1 a.m. Friday at the Mountain B nightclub in Chonburi province’s Sattahip district, about 90 miles southeast of Bangkok.
Video footage released by a rescue service showed desperate revelers fleeing the club screaming, their clothes on fire, as the fire raged in the background.
Chalit Chotisupakarn, who escaped with burns to his arms and torso, described scenes of panic and despair as people struggled to get out of the building.
“I couldn’t see anything, everything was dark. Everyone was shouting: “Get out! Get out!” We all had to try to get out,” he told reporters.
“I just pushed and pushed. There were people with fire all over their bodies.”
The Sawang Rojanathammasathan Rescue Foundation said 14 people were killed and about 40 injured.
Chalit Chotisupakarn, who survived the fire at the Mountain B nightclub, speaks to reporters. Photograph: Reuters
The service said the blaze was accelerated by flammable acoustic foam on the club’s walls, and it took firefighters more than three hours to bring it under control.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha offered his condolences to the families of the victims and said he had ordered an investigation into the fire.
The dead, four women and 10 men, were found mostly in the entrance and bathroom, with their bodies badly burned, the service said. They were aged between 17 and 49 and are all believed to be Thai.
One of the victims was the lead singer of the band playing at the club, his mother told local media. “I don’t know what to say. Death came suddenly,” Premjai Sae-oung told reporters.
He said a musician friend who escaped had told him the fire broke out in front of the band and spread quickly.
Police are investigating whether there were fire escapes in the single-storey building and engineers are inspecting the structure amid fears it could collapse.
Sompong Chingduang, deputy commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, said the owner was under investigation for changing the premises from a restaurant to a nightclub without permission.
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Concerns have long been raised about Thailand’s lax approach to health and safety regulations, particularly in its countless bars and nightclubs.
A massive inferno broke out at a New Year’s party at Bangkok’s luxury Santika club in 2009, killing 67 people and injuring more than 200.
Santika’s owner was jailed for three years after the fire, which started when fireworks were set off while a rock band called Burn was playing on stage.
In 2012, four people died in a fire caused by an electrical fault at a club on the island of Phuket, a magnet for foreign tourists.