Opinion
The Daily Outrage: Dozens killed in inferno at upscale Thailand club on New Year’s
Examiner Editorial
January 5, 2009
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| Poorly prepared: Fire and Rescue officials along with others inspect the Santika nightclub last week in Bangkok, Thailand. (Davide Longstreath/AP) |
WHERE: Bangkok’s popular, upscale Santika Club
WHAT HAPPENED: About 60 New Year’s Eve partygoers died when a fast-moving, smoky fire gutted the Santika building shortly after a midnight countdown culminated in an onstage fireworks display, sparklers distributed to every table and additional firecrackers brought in by guests.
WHY IT HAPPENED: The nightclub had only one door for customers and the upper-floor windows were barred. It had no sprinklers.
WHY IT’S A BAD IDEA: Thailand’s interior minister aptly noted that the preventable carnage would further damage the country’s image, already battered by widespread political protests, a recent weeklong closure of the capital’s two airports and the worldwide tourism drop-off.
