A PREDAWN fire on the fourth floor of a hotel in Chiang Mai caused chaos as tourists were woken up and evacuated from the building with one person being injured, Amarin TV said this morning (July 14).
At 4.16 a.m. the rescue command centre was alerted of a fire breaking out at this hotel located on Sripingmuang road, Haiya subdistrict, Mueang district, and quickly sent fire trucks and volunteers from Phetkasem Chiang Mai Foundation to put it out and help those trapped within.
Upon arrival they saw smoke billowing from the fourth floor of this high-rise building with rescuers frantically evacuating hotel guests, including tourists, who were still sleeping in their rooms amid panic.
The firefighters then sprayed water to prevent the blaze from spreading to adjacent rooms and it took them approximately 40 minutes to bring it under control.
Initial investigation showed that the fire had erupted from a room occupied by a 47-year-old woman who had burnt her index finger with glass shards having cut her foot plus suffering from smoke inhalation. She was given first aid then quickly sent to the hospital for treatment under her insurance coverage.
Chiang Mai City policemen inspected the scene and cordoned off the area around the damaged room pending the arrival of the forensic investigators to determine the cause of the fire and assess the damage.
Meanwhile, the death toll in the deadly fire that gutted a beer hall in Ladprao area around midnight Sunday rose to 29 today with a 20-year-old man having died at Ladprao Hospital. Yesterday at around 6 p.m. Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Medical Department had increased the number of fatalities from 27 to 28, Naewna newspaper and Amarin TV said.
The 20-year-old man was identified as Mr. Sompong Sriphong with Sisaket News saying that he had gone to the entertainment venue with two friends, Ms. Nipaporn Jamjaeng and Ms. Atcharaporn Suthisin, with all three being from this northeastern province and died in the inferno.
The number of people who got injured also rose to 71 from 63 initially counted , with 24 in critically injured (red category), 13 moderately injured (yellow category), and 32 slightly injured (green category) who have all been discharged, while two others are being transferred to another hospital.
CAPTIONS:
Top, Front Page and first insert: Fire at the Chiang Mai hotel.
Second: The beer hall after the fire had been extinguished. All photos – Amarin TV
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