Friday, January 02, 2009

A disaster happening right after the stroke of midnight :-(

What a way to start off the new year... who would have expected yet another huge tragedy to happen just mere hours into the year 2009? And to think it would happen at the very place where a period of political unrest commenced for months... MY HOMELAND!!! :-((((

Note: even though I am born and raised in Singapore for most of my life, and my maternal family tree is much bigger than my paternal family tree, I still regard Thailand as my homeland cos that's where my dad and true heritage come from.

On January 1 2009, a fire broke out in the Santika Club nightclub in Watthana, Bangkok, Thailand, killed 61 people and injured at least 212. The fire occurred just after the new year in Thailand at 12:35 a.m. 35 foreigners from Australia, Belgium, France, Finland, Japan, Nepal, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States were among the injured.

Many eyewitnesses suggested that the fire was caused by fireworks that lit a second-storey ceiling on fire, or by sparklers inside the nightclub. Other sources suggested an electrical explosion was at fault. However, another eyewitness said that there were no pyrotechnics in the club, and there is no official cause of the fire as of now. About 1,000 people were in the club when it ignited, and the deaths occurred from smoke inhalation, burns, as well as a stampede. The club only had one main exit, with an additional staff exit unknown to clubbers.

Praying for the families of whose who perished in this unfortunate accident that they stay strong during this time of loss, grief and despair... :-((((

More info on the tragedy can be found here... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Bangkok_nightclub_fire

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