Temple Fire in Nonthaburi Claims the Lives of Three Boys

[snoop1130]

 

Three young boys, including twin brothers, tragically lost their lives in a fire that broke out at Suankaew Temple located in Nonthaburi province on Wednesday night. Firefighters had to force entry into a building at the temple as it was locked from the inside to rescue the children.

 

The bodies of the boys were discovered holding hands. The twin brothers, 11-year-old Pannawich and Pannawat, along with their 9-year-old friend Theerapong were identified as the victims.

 

Phra Phayom Kalayano, the temple's outspoken abbot, intends to address a press conference at the temple.

 

Early investigations disclosed that the boys were inside a deserted hut near the temple's entrance known as "kuti". An official from the temple mentioned that he was unaware of the boys' presence as it was generally uninhabited.

 

The official highlighted that the three boys were among the children being cared for by the temple, receiving both shelter and education. Reportedly, five children were seen at the hut before the incident. Two of them, who also resided in the temple, had left the premises.

 

Chamlong, the heartbroken grandmother of the twins, shared that she looked after the boys following their parents' divorce. The twins were pupils at a school in Pathum Thani province, and had taken vows to become novices at the temple once the school was over.

 

The grandmother, in tears, added that their mother has been notified about the tragic incident and is en route to the temple.

 

Photo courtesy of Thai PBS

 

-- 2024-05-23

 

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[Georgealbert]

Thai media reported.
 

“Today at 15.00 Nonthaburi Province, Pol. Col. Suthachai Traisomboon, Deputy Commander and forensic teams traveled to inspect the burned temple structure. 
 

This building was found to have been built about 20 years ago, and was steel framed, with wood walls, The buildings are used for visiting monks, but as the temple does not have monks regularly visiting, it was being used for the children, but it remains unclear if they had permission.

 

The interior was completely destroyed by the fire and a fan was found to be the only electrical appliance. Questions earlier, had been raised to if the door was locked, but smoke staining seem to confirm that the door was unlocked and could have been opened before the fire. It is believed that the three children were probably asleep when the fire started and were initially overcome by smoke.

 

The investigation will continue.”

[hotchilli]

13 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

The buildings are used for visiting monks, but as the temple does not have monks regularly visiting, it was being used for the children, but it remains unclear if they had permission.

I think the temple knew exactly what was going on, just trying to distance themselves from any responsibility.

[Georgealbert]

58 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

I think the temple knew exactly what was going on, just trying to distance themselves from any responsibility.

Maybe, but surely there are many others, children, parents and temple visitors, who can confirm the details.

 

The investigation is going to be difficult, but not impossible., given the small size of the building, construction and amount of damage.

 

The pictures of the poor children, does indicate that there were unaware/asleep when the fire happened. Autopsy may also help to show how the fire developed, from the amount of smoke in the lungs and windpipe.

[Surasak]

"Reportedly, five children were seen at the hut before the incident. Two of them, who also resided in the temple, had left the premises."

Makes one wonder, was the fire started from inside or outside?

[Georgealbert]

Reported update today.
 

“Today, 24 May 2024, Pol. Col. Somphon Wongsrisunthon, deputy commander of Nonthaburi Provincial Police, said he received the autopsy results of all 3 children from the Institute of Forensic Science and they were found to have soot in their lungs. For the detailed results, of the autopsy they will have to wait 1-2 weeks, because identity must be checked against DNA of the parents to confirm identity.”

 

https://www.thaipbs.or.th/news/content/340351

[Georgealbert]

This is only my opinion, but looking at pictures from the night and after the fire was out, it seems this may have been a slow burning fire, as the external damage is limited. The roof, clothing hanging outside, plastic chair and matting on the entrance platform shows little damage from flames or radiated heat. Seems some of the structure damage, cutting through the side, was done when removing the bodies.

 

Internally everything is burnt, but carefully removing the burnt remains off the floor, could indicate burn patterns, pointing the area the fire started and any possible flammable liquids if present. The police reported that there was soot in the lungs, so the victims had clearly breathed in lots of smoke, but the autopsy would also have shown heat/burn damage in the windpipe and possibly lungs. Smoke gases have a lot higher temperature at the ceiling level, but if the victims were asleep this would be limited. If the victims have been standing and trying to get out, high temperature fire gases would have been breathed into the lungs and leaving visible evidence/damage.

 

There was very little, reported inside the room to burn, a fan, some bedding and the walls linings, plus sadly the victims and their clothing. The positioning of the victims, would indicate that their were asleep and overcome by smoke, long before being burnt. Body posture is always a poor indicator of what the victim was doing before death, as fire and heat effects on muscles and body tissue, will tend to contract the limbs.

 

I doubt that the final investigation details will be reported, as with the difficulties of identifying individual bodies, it will take weeks to complete and the media will have moved on by then.