Death toll rises to 15 in Thailand nightclub fire
Bangkok, Aug 7 (EFE).- The death toll from a nightclub fire in Thailand has increased to 15, an official said Sunday, amid ongoing country-wide safety checks of entertainment venues.
The fire broke out on Friday at the Mountain B nightspot in the Sattahip district.
An emergency services spokesperson told EFE that a man succumbed to his injuries suffered due to the flames, raising the toll in the tragedy to 15.
Nearly 40 other people were injured.
Fourteen people, including four women, died on the spot.
The spokesperson said most of the dead were found at the nightclub entrance and in the bathroom.
The proprietor of the nightclub was detained on Saturday by police on suspicion of carelessness and running the establishment without a license.
It took firefighters more than three hours to douse the flames that erupted early Friday morning.
Because of the combustible acoustic foam inside the walls of the premises, the fire swiftly spread throughout the structure.
The club in Chonburi, some 150 km (90 miles) south of Bangkok, was a single-story complex.
The cause of the fire remains unknown.
The authorities are investigating dozens of eyewitness statements alleging that the nightclub’s doors were shut at the time of the tragedy.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered a probe into the events.
The prime minister has also directed officials to examine safety measures of entertainment sites to prevent more incidents.
Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt has ordered all 50 districts in the city to carry out safety checks at entertainment venues.
Some 83 places have been ordered to suspend their operations due to a lack of safety controls. EFE
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