Bangkok 2009 New Year’s Blast: Popular Night Club Scorched during Count-down; Human Barbecue
For thousands of people, 2009 kicked off with a horrific tragedy as one of the Thai capital’s popular night club’s Santika (sometimes spelt Zantika) went into flames shortly after the New Year’s count down.
At least 60 people either were trampled, suffocated and/or burnt to death within the once classy compounds, and several hundred more barely escaping a horrid death by thin moments. More than half of the lifeless victims have yet to be recognized, identified and claimed by mourning and confused family members in Bangkok andupcountry.
According to news reports, there were roughly a thousand people in the night club for New Year’s celebration. By international safety standards, the size of the venue should have a maximum capacity of only about 350. Anyone who has been inside a Bangkok club would not be surprised about how and why a public place of business could, would and did stretch its limits.
On any particularly busy night in most of Bangkok’s popular night clubs, it could easily take 10 minutes just to squeeze one’s way through the human traffic to the exit or bathroom to/from one’s table. Add fire, chaos, and panic and you’ve got yet another predictable yet un-prevented disaster.
While its easy for common folk who have seen and been there to draw conclusions, as with any such shady incident, the exact details and facts to official cause and fault are unclear. There are many possible sparks to the fire and investigators are weary to draw any conclusions yet considering the additional coincidental fact that the lease for the club was soon to expire;
All New Year’s Guests to the final Santika party received a ‘Goodbye Santika’ complimentary DVD–oblivious to the actual grand finale spectacle that was to come. Some speculate that it is a case of the classic insurance claim, though the club’s owner is nowhere in sight/contact at the time of this writing.
Eye witness accounts confirm that prior to and during the countdown, party-goers were openly (permited to) playing with sparkler type fire works in their drunken celebrations. Another probable/likely cause was a failed lights effects system that some eyewitnesses said sparked the fire initially from the stage, igniting the domed roof, before capsizing and rapidly spreading until the entire building became engulfed, feeding on abundant supply wood and alcohalic fuel.
As expected, experts and critics continue to focus on the sub-standard of safety crediting to the high number of casualties. Aparently, only one or two of the building’s half a dozen exits were accessible and successfully utilized in the time of need, causing many to ‘choose the wrong door,’ get trapped, trampled, and torched to death.
Rest in Peace to the victims… Following are some related links for further reading/viewing:
Youtube Live Eyewitness Video Clip
Official Website of Santika Club (still online and promoting at time of writing)
Popularity: 15% [?]
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January 2nd, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Only 8 corpses left to be claimed-identified
http://www.thairath.co.th/online.php?section=newsthairathonline&content=117427
January 6th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Since the disaster, a lot of weary persons have been wondering about what, if any preventive efforts the local government will take to ensure that such tragedy won’t happen again so easily. This news thread on the Thai Visa forum reports the announced crackdown efforts of the Bangkok Metropolitan Area authorities on potential unsafe public places. Is it just talk or will anything happen?
January 6th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
The link above goes to a page on the Santika pub’s web forum which posted 63 victims list, mostly Thais (in Thai language) though English names are written of the foreign victims.