Thread: Route 99 pattaya, several dead

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Monday 8th May 2006

8 dead and 58 injured as fire destroys the Route 999 Nightclub in North Pattaya.
Route 999 was one of Pattaya’s up and coming late night entertainment venues and proved popular with Thais and foreigners who enjoyed the live band club, the DJ club and the Coyote Bar. The venue opened in December 2005 and soon became one of Pattaya’s leading nightclubs. National pop stars and groups would appear there on a weekly basis. However, those that attended were unaware of the dangers lurking inside and the potential for a major disaster to occur.
Police and rescue workers were called to the Route 999 Pub located at the North end of Pattaya Third Road at around 21.00 on Sunday Evening after reports of a rapidly spreading fire and persons trapped inside were received. Every available rescue unit along with units from the Pattaya Fire Brigade and rescue units from outside Pattaya, including Sriracha and Sattahip, responded and arrived at the scene to find the front of the club completely engulfed in flames.
Entry to the building was hampered by a locked rear exit door so it was decided to break down a side-wall to assist injured people who were trapped inside. After the wall was taken away, many people were found unconscious on the floor through excess smoke inhalation. They were taken out, one by one and transported to Hospital.
The injured and dead were taken out to various hospitals around the Pattaya and Chonburi Area who were all put on red alert. Arriving at the scene, as injured people were being taken out, included Pattaya's Mayor, Khun Niran who was joined by senior Pattaya Police Officers.
Police Lieutenant General Jongrak, the Region 2 Commander of Police arrived at the scene along with the Governor of Chonburi, Khun Pisit to conduct an initial inspection of the scene. The General ordered specialist Police forensic teams to the location to begin the investigation into the fire.
The injured were taken to the Pattaya Memorial, Pattaya International, Banglamung Hospital and the Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital. One person was transported to the burns unit at Chonburi Hospital but died on the way.
The current figures indicate 8 people have died and at least 58 people have been injured. Five dead were reported at the Banglamung Hospital, one from the Chonburi Hospital and one from the Pattaya Memorial Hospital. The charred remains of a Thai man was removed from the scene. The General released the names of the dead who are Saijai Srilakul, 24, Winida Buachuen, 25, Suphan Parasami, 25, Supaporn Sornpinjin, 21, Chutima Boonju, 22, Thaweepong Kantiyamongkol, 29, Oei (surname unknown), 25, and an unidentified man.
An initial inspection of the scene claimed that an electrical short circuit with a neon sign on the front of the building was to blame, however, on Monday afternoon it was claimed that a technician was working on a broken air-conditioning unit on the roof of the club and for an unknown reason, fell to the ground leaving his lit blow-torch on the roof. This caused a small fire which quickly spread into the front bar which features live bands, and continued to engulf the entire front section of the complex, including the DJ Club. We went to each of Pattaya’s hospitals and saw scenes of complete chaos and scores of injured arriving. At the Banglamung Hospital, the dead were left on the floor as there were no staff members available to take them to the morgue.
The next morning we returned to the scene and inspected the carnage for ourselves. Returning to the scene were Police Lieutenant General Jongkrak and Khun Niran, the Mayor of Pattaya. Looking through the building we could only imagine the fear and panic felt by those inside who experienced this terrible tragedy. The fire took place just as the club was opening and after assessing the level of destruction inside the club the numbers of dead and injured would have been considerably higher if the fire had taken place later on in the night.
We spoke with Khun Niran, the Mayor of Pattaya who informed us that an immediate check on every late night entertainment venue is now taking place around the Pattaya area. Adequate fire safety procedures and fire exits must be in place, otherwise the venue will be told to close until the improvements are made. In this case, the building and its contents were not insured and the only exit, apart from the front main entrance was locked.
Questions are being asked as to why the plans for the building were approved by Pattaya City Hall who some feel must be held partially responsible for the blaze.