Phuket on alert against fires at entertainment venues

THAILAND, August 20 (TNA) - Local authorities have been on high alert, with stricter measures being implemented, to prevent any repeated fire at entertainment venues in southern resort Phuket province, following a deadly blaze at a local pub and discotheque on August 17. Phuket Governor Tri Akaradecha told journalists on Monday, when leading officials of the provincial Red Cross Office to visit a 32-year-old female victim of last Friday's fire at the Tiger Pub and Discotheque near Patong Beach in Katoo district, that the site of the fire and its vicinity have been sealed-off pending official investigations on the exact cause of the fire and on whether the building was illegally modified. Tri said that local agencies concerned, which are also strictly inspecting some other 190 entertainment venues in Patong area, have held their regular meetings on the monthly basis to review and discuss anti-fire measures on the renowned Thai resort island. Four people were killed and 11 others were injured from last Friday's blaze at the Tiger Pub and Discotheque in Phuket. The charred bodies of the four fatalities have been sent for forensic examinations and identifications at the Police Hospital in Bangkok; while most of those injured have already been discharged from the hospital. (TNA)