Thailand Says Briton Among Nightclub Fire Victims

[webfact]

Thailand says Briton among nightclub fire victims

Bangkok, Aug 21, 2012 (AFP) - Thai police confirmed Tuesday that a 24-year-old British man was one of the four victims killed in a fire at a nightclub on the resort island of Phuket last week.

Dental records from Britain helped confirm the identify of Michael Pio Tzouvanni, said deputy national police chief Lieutenant General Jaramporn Suramanee, who added the man died "from suffocation and smoke inhalation".

Police are still waiting for DNA samples from relatives of a missing Frenchman and two Thai women to determine whether they are the three other victims, he said. All four bodies were burnt beyond recognition.

Eleven other people were injured in the pre-dawn blaze at the Tiger disco in the seaside resort of Patong on Friday. The cause has not yet been established.

The fire was another blow to Thailand's image as the "Land of Smiles", which has been tarnished in recent years by deadly political unrest, devastating floods, and concerns about violent crimes against foreigners.

Safety standards in the kingdom are generally poor and deaths involving tourists are common.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2012-08-21

[MEL1]

"Safety standards in the kingdom are generally poor and deaths involving tourists are common."

Any comparable standards of number of deaths involving tourists in other countries, particularly Western countries?

Common is a 'common' word, that doesn't always reflect what is purported as truth.

-mel.

[georgey]

"Safety standards in the kingdom are generally poor and deaths involving tourists are common."

Any comparable standards of number of deaths involving tourists in other countries, particularly Western countries?

Common is a 'common' word, that doesn't always reflect what is purported as truth.

-mel.

surely you're not disagreeing with the statement?

[beano2274]

A great English name!!

But such a sorry accident

[maimeepom]

The Uk Times today, reported that Michael Tzouvanni was a regulay visitor to Phuket.

He had phoned his older Brother and a friend from the disco, saying " I am in the fire, there is no wayout"..

Mr Tzouvanni was a university graduate , and along with his 5 Brothers , were directors of his Father's property company.

His Father had arrived from Cyprus aged 11, and built up a property empire worth £20 million.

R.I.P.

[beano2274]

apparently the bodies were not far from an emergency exit, was this locked at the time, he said "there is no wayout" but he was soooo close to the exit.

Any loss of life like this is tragic

[roamer]

A great English name!!

But such a sorry accident

Remarkable. Your Dad arrives here at 11 from what was at the time a British Crown Colony, many years later gives birth to you in the UK, you go to school , uni, grow up in the UK and when you die people point out that you had " A great English name!!"...

no-one seemed to have a problem with recognising Somali born Mohammed "Mo" Farah as British when they were handing out Gold medals the other day.

Just don't think it was relevant Beano.

Edited August 21, 2012 by roamer

[webfact]

PHUKET FIRE

Briton named as Phuket pub fire victim

KWANHATAI MALAIKARN,

YONGYOS PRUEKSARAK

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- A young British national has been officially identified as one of the fatalities in the Phuket discotheque fire last Friday.

The Institute of Forensic Medicine named one of the Caucasian bodies as belonging to Michael Pio Tzouvanni, 24. His elder brother, Joseph, has already signed for the remains and is in the process of taking them back to his homeland.

"We have identified him from his dental records. We also found his cellphone on his body," assistant National Police commissioner Lt-General Jaramporn Suramanee said yesterday.

He said the young Briton died of asphyxiation and smoke suffocation. Tzouvanni was the first fatality to be named in the Tiger Discotheque fire.

Located in Phuket's Krathu district, the entertainment venue was gutted by fire, killing four people and injuring 11 others.

Jaramporn said authorities were still trying to identify three other dead victims. To date, relatives have reported that a French person and two Thais were missing after the fire.

"DNA testing is ongoing for two Thai women. We are also seeking records of DNA samples from the parents of the missing French victim," he said.

Patong Entertainment Entrepre-neurs Club president Weerawit Kruasombat said his club would provide Bt10,000 in financial assistance to the family of each dead victim.

"We are very sad," he said.

Early yesterday, his club and locals held a candlelight vigil in remembrance of those who died.

Business people and staff members working in the same soi as the Tiger Discotheque said few people were visiting the discotheques now.

-- The Nation 2012-08-22

[webfact]

British tourist confirmed as Tiger Disco fire victim

Phuket Gazette

Joseph Tzouvanni, in Phuket on Sunday, has since learned that his brother Michael died in the Tiger Disco fire. Photo: Atchaa Khamlo

A handout image of Michael Pio Tzouvanni, who has now been confirmed as one of the four people who died in the fire. Photo: Atchaa Khamlo

PHUKET: -- Royal Thai Police forensics experts have identified British national Michael Tzouvanni, 24, as one of the four people killed in the Tiger Discotheque fire in Patong early last Friday morning.

The news was announced at a press conference led by Assistant National Police Chief Charamporn Suramanee at the Royal Thai Police Institute of Forensic Medicine in Bangkok, where the bodies of the four victims, found in the aftermath of the blaze, were taken for identification.

Lt Gen Charamporn explained that forensics officers confirmed the identification through dental records provided by the family.

“Forensics officers identified the cause of death as suffocation,” Lt Gen Charamporn said.

“The family have accepted the investigators’ findings,” he added.

Joseph Tzouvanni, the victim’s brother, arrived at the institute with representatives from the British embassy, this afternoon, to claim the body.

However, the family have decided to leave Mr Tzouvanni’s remains at the institute until arrangements are made through an insurance company, Lt Gen Charamporn said.

Joseph arrived in Phuket on Sunday, flying directly from London, after hearing news of the fire. He made an emotional plea to the public for any information that might prove his brother Michael was alive.

Efforts to identify the remaining three bodies are progressing slowly.

“We have received DNA samples from the Thai families who believe they have lost loved ones to the fire. The results from the DNA tests should be available within one to two days.

“In our efforts to confirm whether or not the fourth body is that of the Frenchman believed to have died in the fire, we have yet to receive DNA samples from the family involved,” Lt Gen Charamporn explained.

Source: http://www.phuketgaz...ctim-16716.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-08-22

[noitom]

Does anyone know if Thai dentists ever provide dental records to verify identity of Thais? Can't recall ever reading that they do, but may have missed it. Maybe they just ignore the requests or they don't feel it is their concern. In this case, the photo, looks like the Thai holding up the dental xrays has an expression as if - see how wonderful we are- we found out who it is. I would like to know how the UK sent the correct matching dental records so fast when a previous story in The Nation stated that the dead were unrecognizable. So how did the Thais know to request the dental records from the UK and how did the correct UK dentist locate the match so fast?

[Thai at Heart]

Does anyone know if Thai dentists ever provide dental records to verify identity of Thais? Can't recall ever reading that they do, but may have missed it. Maybe they just ignore the requests or they don't feel it is their concern. In this case, the photo, looks like the Thai holding up the dental xrays has an exp<b></b>ression as if - see how wonderful we are- we found out who it is. I would like to know how the UK sent the correct matching dental records so fast when a previous story in The Nation stated that the dead were unrecognizable. So how did the Thais know to request the dental records from the UK and how did the correct UK dentist locate the match so fast?

It's called an embassy.

[Notstupid30]

More tragic things happening in Phuket this year

R,I.P To all the people who have lost life there .

[SantiSuk]

Does anyone know if Thai dentists ever provide dental records to verify identity of Thais? Can't recall ever reading that they do, but may have missed it. Maybe they just ignore the requests or they don't feel it is their concern. In this case, the photo, looks like the Thai holding up the dental xrays has an expression as if - see how wonderful we are- we found out who it is. I would like to know how the UK sent the correct matching dental records so fast when a previous story in The Nation stated that the dead were unrecognizable. So how did the Thais know to request the dental records from the UK and how did the correct UK dentist locate the match so fast?

It's called an embassy.

His brother was in Phuket and they sould like a sharp family.

[peter48]

The death of this North London Guy is now being covered by London media. Our hearts go out to the grieving family. For Brits who really know Thailand we feel bitter that probably lax health and safety and weak enforcement has left to these deaths. I hope UK authorities will do more to warn UK tourists that Thailand in so many ways is full of threats to their safety & remains uncaring to the safety of tourists especially only three years after the Bangkok disco fire where over 65 people lost their lives. Its a question of who supervises these places which I guess should be the police and local authorities- but reports abound about corruption.

[SOTIRIOS]

PHUKET FIRE

Briton named as Phuket pub fire victim

KWANHATAI MALAIKARN,

YONGYOS PRUEKSARAK

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- A young British national has been officially identified as one of the fatalities in the Phuket discotheque fire last Friday.

The Institute of Forensic Medicine named one of the Caucasian bodies as belonging to Michael Pio Tzouvanni, 24. His elder brother, Joseph, has already signed for the remains and is in the process of taking them back to his homeland.

"We have identified him from his dental records. We also found his cellphone on his body," assistant National Police commissioner Lt-General Jaramporn Suramanee said yesterday.

He said the young Briton died of asphyxiation and smoke suffocation. Tzouvanni was the first fatality to be named in the Tiger Discotheque fire.

Located in Phuket's Krathu district, the entertainment venue was gutted by fire, killing four people and injuring 11 others.

Jaramporn said authorities were still trying to identify three other dead victims. To date, relatives have reported that a French person and two Thais were missing after the fire.

"DNA testing is ongoing for two Thai women. We are also seeking records of DNA samples from the parents of the missing French victim," he said.

Patong Entertainment Entrepre-neurs Club president Weerawit Kruasombat said his club would provide Bt10,000 in financial assistance to the family of each dead victim.

"We are very sad," he said.

Early yesterday, his club and locals held a candlelight vigil in remembrance of those who died.

Business people and staff members working in the same soi as the Tiger Discotheque said few people were visiting the discotheques now.

-- The Nation 2012-08-22

CTRL + Q to Enable/Disable GoPhoto.it

&lt;deleted&gt; are they smiling about???

[SOTIRIOS]

PHUKET FIRE

Briton named as Phuket pub fire victim

KWANHATAI MALAIKARN,

YONGYOS PRUEKSARAK

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- A young British national has been officially identified as one of the fatalities in the Phuket discotheque fire last Friday.

The Institute of Forensic Medicine named one of the Caucasian bodies as belonging to Michael Pio Tzouvanni, 24. His elder brother, Joseph, has already signed for the remains and is in the process of taking them back to his homeland.

"We have identified him from his dental records. We also found his cellphone on his body," assistant National Police commissioner Lt-General Jaramporn Suramanee said yesterday.

He said the young Briton died of asphyxiation and smoke suffocation. Tzouvanni was the first fatality to be named in the Tiger Discotheque fire.

Located in Phuket's Krathu district, the entertainment venue was gutted by fire, killing four people and injuring 11 others.

Jaramporn said authorities were still trying to identify three other dead victims. To date, relatives have reported that a French person and two Thais were missing after the fire.

"DNA testing is ongoing for two Thai women. We are also seeking records of DNA samples from the parents of the missing French victim," he said.

Patong Entertainment Entrepre-neurs Club president Weerawit Kruasombat said his club would provide Bt10,000 in financial assistance to the family of each dead victim.

"We are very sad," he said.

Early yesterday, his club and locals held a candlelight vigil in remembrance of those who died.

Business people and staff members working in the same soi as the Tiger Discotheque said few people were visiting the discotheques now.

-- The Nation 2012-08-22

CTRL + Q to Enable/Disable GoPhoto.it

&lt;deleted&gt; are they smiling about???

[Para]

Yet another tragic waste of life due to the lack of fire precautions.

How many more people must die before fire escapes are not just available but not chained up?

As for the comment about his name what difference does it make he died on holiday in Thailand because of the way Thai's are allowed to run their businesses.

R.I.P.

[gaucho]

it never ceases to amaze me how many fire exits r locked in venues around the world ...it usually is done so people cant sneak in or get let in by their friends inside .......i have been in many discos in los ............once i was in the company of a fire inspector from australia .....he literally ran out of the joint ..... later on at breakfast he drew a diagram of just the basic problems ..virtually one discarded cigarette could have killed hundreds

[Baerboxer]

it never ceases to amaze me how many fire exits r locked in venues around the world ...it usually is done so people cant sneak in or get let in by their friends inside .......i have been in many discos in los ............once i was in the company of a fire inspector from australia .....he literally ran out of the joint ..... later on at breakfast he drew a diagram of just the basic problems ..virtually one discarded cigarette could have killed hundreds

Yes - and given the relatively low cost of labour here, it would be easy to station a guard at each exit, Stop people getting in free and making sure the exits are open and clear in an emergency. But, sadly, the value of life is considered even more cheaply in some countries.

To be fair, things only got better in the UK over a period of time, due to tougher, enforced legislation and diligent non-corrupt inspectors.

Sad loss of young lives and codolences to all relatives, whatever their nationality.

[TomTao]

Last time I was in Phuket work was being done on the downstairs section of the Tiger bar, when I saw the workers were shaping styrofoam to make the tigers I said it was a fire waiting to happen,when my wife repeated what I said to the workers they laughed and said it was special fire resistant foam. Guess they lied.

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