17 schoolgirls dead in fire at boarding school in Chiang Rai

[webfact]

17 schoolgirls dead in fire at boarding school in Chiang Rai



CHIANG RAI:-- Seventeen schoolgirls have been killed after a fire destroyed a dormitory at a school in Chiang Rai on Sunday night.

Latest reports say that five other students were seriously injured and two others remain missing.

All the victims were aged between 5 and 12 years old and are believed to have come from the hill tribes of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, Thai media reported.

The fire broke out just after 11pm in a dormitory where 38 girls had been staying at Pithakkiat Witthaya School.

Officials and rescue workers who attended the scene first had managed to evacuate some of the girls but the ferocity of the flames meant that many of the girls were trapped inside the building.

Thai TV Channel 3 reported that investigators said they expected the death toll to rise and that they had not been able to identify all of the victims.


-- 2016-05-23

[OccamsRazor]

cm108 Google Translate

Terrible tragedy.

[laolover88]

Awful event

Poor children. How do these things happen?

Th Guardian (UK):

"Thailand has poor health and safety standards and accidents are common across the kingdom."

You don't say!

[theguyfromanotherforum]

Wow. Just wow.

[taony]

OMG, this is a sickening story to read. Please don't let the number rise more than this...

[Caps]

Very sad

[tracker1]

A tragic waste of young lives with something as simple as a smoke alarms may have saved some if not all

[taony]

Even if that building is just the residences, it is not a proper place to house boarding school dorms. An accident like this is just waiting to happen.

[marko kok prong]

Terrible news

[Toknarok]

It would appear that this was a private institution catering to poor rural hill tribe children. Tragic.

[webfact]

17 girls dead in school dorm fire in Chiang Rai

CHIANG RAI: -- Seventeen girls died and five injured after a fire broke out before midnight and quickly engulfed a two-storey half wooden dormitory of a welfare elementary school in Wiang Papao district of Chiang Rai province last night.

Some were also missing in the tragic fire which broke out at 11.00 pm.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/164227


-- Thai PBS 2016-05-23

[Sheppo]

OMG!!! Poor kids! Why do I cry

[Cuchulainn]

In God's care now.

[kkup]

RIP

[coma]

Someone's head will have to roll for that. Obviously not fire safe compliant. No fire alarms, fire escapes etc etc. Standard in Thailand. But I am sure Prayut will swing the hammer hard on whoever is responsible.

Looking at the daily news website. There are some horrible images there. It is a miracle anyone survived. So sad for the families, staff and emergency workers having to sort that out.

[kmj]

So sad

Edited May 23, 2016 by kmj

[leeneeds]

R.I.P.

[bitcoinforever]

i blame the government ,because the government of Thailand never does anything only talk will not do shit, does not matter military or civilian all the same. terrible tragic young people with everything to live forr and a government not caring for children. inspect,bring to court ,fine make businesses live up to the fire code that is on the books,

Edited May 23, 2016 by bitcoinforever

[jayboy]

Just awful.The most unbearable thing to hear.

[Keesters]

Someone's head will have to roll for that. Obviously not fire safe compliant. No fire alarms, fire escapes etc etc. Standard in Thailand. But I am sure Prayut will swing the hammer hard on whoever is responsible.

Looking at the daily news website. There are some horrible images there. It is a miracle anyone survived. So sad for the families, staff and emergency workers having to sort that out.

If whoever is responsible for checking fire safety in public and commercial buildings actually did their job then half of those buildings in Thailand would be shut down.

RIP little ladies.

[xtof2]

Terrible. Feeling so sad.

RIP little angels

[webfact]

17 girls died in dormitory fire in Wiang Papao



CHIANG RAI: -- Seventeen girls died and five injured after a fire broke out before midnight and quickly engulfed a two-storey half wooden dormitory of an welfare elementary school in Wiang Papao district of Chiang Rai province last night.

About 40 girls, aged from 5-12 years were staying at the girl dormitory of the Pitak Kiatwithaya school in Tambon Wieng of Wiang Papao district at about 11.00 pm.

Fire fighters spent three hours to put the fire.

Primary inspection revealed that so many lives were perished because the dormitory was locked from outside, thus trapping the victims inside.

Charred bodies of the girls were found at the scene. They were all burned beyond recognition.

Fire fighters said they could rescue five girls from the raging half cement half wooden building, two in serious condition.

Another girl remains missing.

The cause of fire is still unknown.

Forensic police along with Chiang Rai governor and Wiang Papao district chief officer were at the scene this morning.

DNA samples of all the bodies would be collected for identification.

The school is closed for five days from 23 – 27 May due to fire.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/164231


-- Thai PBS 2016-05-23

[piersbeckett]

A tragic waste of young lives with something as simple as a smoke alarms may have saved some if not all

Yes, and a clear fire escape route. Thirty eight seems a lot of children to be housed in one dormitory. As you say an absolute tragedy.

We can only hope that the injured get proper medical treatment and make good recoveries and that somebody in authority makes it compulsory to regularly inspect such premises in order to implement such measures as are necessary to ensure that this awful situation doesn't reoccur.

Edited May 23, 2016 by piersbeckett

[webfact]

17 girls killed in fire at school dorm in Thailand
By Kocha Olarn, CNN

Bangkok (CNN)Seventeen girls have been killed in a fire which broke out in a school dormitory where they were sleeping Sunday night.

More than a dozen others are missing in the charred remains of the dorm, which housed girls aged between 5 and 12 years old, according to lead investigator, Police Captain Kachornsak Pongthit.

Investigators are trying to confirm what caused the fire, which is believed to have started around 11:00 p.m. local time Sunday (12 midnight Saturday ET) at the private Pitakiatwittaya School Christian elementary school in Thailand's northern Chiang Rai Province.

Full story: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/22/asia/thailand-school-dorm-fire/index.html


-- CNN 2016-05-23

[singhajim]

Horrible tragedy, just horrible.

[colinneil]

WHY did this happen????

No fire safety measures, no evacuation drill, no adults present.

Now before i get condemned for my comments.

When my wife was director of a mountain school, 1 teacher per dormitery at night.

Many nights no teacher sleeping in the teacher room, no adult supervision.

Many times my wife spoke about this but the teachers were not interested.

Such a tragic loss of young inocent lives.

R.I.P. I HOPE YOU DID NOT SUFFER TOO MUCH.

Edited May 23, 2016 by colinneil

[cumgranosalum]

Awful event

Poor children. How do these things happen?

Th Guardian (UK):

"Thailand has poor health and safety standards and accidents are common across the kingdom."

You don't say!

I've had to complain at work about fire exits being locked.....I was told in one case it was to stop pilfering.......at what cost??.

I doubt there will be a thorough investigation as it would probably involve the reputations of those in high places or with "connections".

Health and Safety is NOT that old cliche the "Nanny State" it represents lives of innocents.

[ezzra]

Not a good Monday for Thailand today, these poor and unfortunate girls and the bus accident that took the lives of 7 more people and the day is not out yet.....

[sirocco]

What a horror, but what horror.

A real drama.

My thoughts are with children who, for some, have views to die, and all their relatives.

Be kind, do not look for leaders.

This happens even in countries where safety standards are very strict, as in France, for example.

[thai3]

oh no not another this can happen anywhere excuse, tragic but almost certainly avoidable