58 people die, nearly 200 hurt in Bangkok nightclub fire

BANGKOK, Jan. 1 Kyodo -
At least 58 people were killed and 184 others, including four Japanese, were
injured in a fire at a popular Bangkok nightclub that broke out shortly after
midnight during New Year celebrations, Thai officials said Thursday.
The Public Health Ministry's emergency unit had earlier reported 59 dead and
over 200 injured in the fire at the two-story Santika Club in central Bangkok,
which had been jammed with about 1,000 New Year's revelers, the officials said.
The unit's chief Chatree Charoenchivakul attributed the inaccurate count to a
simple miscalculation that occurred as rescue workers rushed to send victims to
16 hospitals in the city.
One Singaporean man, identified by police as Teo Sze Siong, was confirmed to be
among the dead while 18 other foreigners, including the four Japanese, were
among the injured, according to Chatree.
He added that 18 people, including some foreigners, were seriously injured and
13 of them were in intensive care units. Most of the fire victims suffered
burns and the effects of smoke inhalation, he said.
Besides the Singaporean man, forensic experts have so far identified 26 Thais
among the dead.
At Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, 16 bodies have been identified as belonging
to Thais while 14 other bodies, also believed to be Thais, are burned beyond
recognition so further laboratory examinations will be carried out to confirm
their identities, the hospital's chief was quoted as saying in radio reports.
A senior police official said earlier that foreigners from such countries as
Japan, Australia, the Netherlands and Nepal might be among those killed in the
blaze.
The Japanese Embassy in Bangkok said four Japanese men -- one Bangkok resident
and three tourists -- were among the injured. One of them, identified as
38-year-old Keiichi Wada from Tokyo, was seriously injured, according to a
Japanese diplomatic source.
Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital said Wada was in an intensive care unit and was
being given respiratory aid. The two other injured Japanese were being treated
at Bangkok General Hospital but they are not in critical condition.
Australia's embassy in Bangkok says three Australians -- a 29-year-old woman,
her 30-year-old brother and a 49-year-old man -- were injured in the fire and
are being treated in hospital.
Police Gen. Jongrak Jutanon of the Royal Thai Police, citing witnesses, said
the fire appeared to originate from the ceiling of the twp-story building,
which also has a basement.
Several people who managed to escape the fire told local TV and radio they were
celebrating New Year and bidding farewell to the pub, which was scheduled to
close down despite its popularity among party and concert goers.
==Kyodo