17 schoolgirls dead in fire at boarding school in Chiang Rai

[Artisi]

I pray to God for them young souls, Amen

Boggles the mind that people, especially educated people, in the 21st century yet, still buy into ancient superstitions of supremely ignorant tribes. WOW

Off topic I suppose, but reading your post and looking at your avatar brings to mind the saying that "the greatest success of the devil is persuading people that he doesn't exist."

And reading your post inspired me to come up with an original quote of my own...

"The folly of the fool is allowing oneself to be persuaded that gods do exist."

Like your quote, ensure it is exposed in the public domain.

[cheapcanuck]

RIP

[Lopchan]

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!

according to thai belief, they deserved it. thats why. when bad things happen to you they stand out of the way because its your karma. Sad.

Yeah i'm sure that is what the grieving parents are thinking right now, that their children deserved to die. Where did you gain your knowledge of Thai people?

At a guess I'd say his knowledge came from another expat / expert at a bar...defies belief sometimes doesn't it Skorp

[Mosha]

You have to feel for the girl who tried to warn her friends.

Sent from my SMART_4G_Speedy_5inch using Tapatalk

[lostinisaan]

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

Now please don't tell me that there's a god somewhere. I'm long enough here to understand what seriously injured here really means. Two are missing?

​ I have no words, only tears.

[mcfish]

RIP

[spidermike007]

Culpability and acceptance of responsibility frankly don't exist here. Any investigation will go the same way as a nightclub fire.

RIP to the victims and condolences to their families.

You might be wrong on that count. The nightclub fire was resolved fairly easily, as the owner was very wealthy. As we all know, the wealthy here do not get punished. They simply buy their way out of trouble. Does this facility have a wealthy owner, or someone who is well connected? If so, minor penalties of no consequence will be levied for what is essentially 18 counts of manslaughter. The degree of negligence here is mind boggling. Will anyone be penalized? Is there a leader with a sense of justice? The owner of this facility should serve the rest of his or her natural life in a secure prison.

Edited May 23, 2016 by spidermike007

[lostinisaan]

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!

according to thai belief, they deserved it. thats why. when bad things happen to you they stand out of the way because its your karma. Sad.

I know that there're people around with mental deficits, but reading your post made me so angry that I'd like to knock you out of your shoes.

Did you read that In Lonely Planet?

[oldsailor35]

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!

"How do these things happen"........................Only one answer to that, Neglect and complacency on the part of the school administrators. Someone must take the responsibility for this.

[JetsetBkk]

More than 20 years after the worlds worst factory fire took place in Nakon Pathom where 188 people were killed and hundreds more seriously injured. Nothing changes. Still no effective fire laws, locked fire exits and no smoke detectors can be found everywhere in Thailand.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kader_Toy_Factory_fire

In the above case one person was convicted and sentenced to 10 years, allegedly for starting the blaze with a discarded cigarette, a labourer, The 14 executives on trial were cleared of all charges. Nothing Changes

I wish I hadn't read that link. That fire was terrible and so long ago you would think any normal country would've enacted laws to prevent such occurrences happening again.

[lostinisaan]

My wife bless her says I worry too much, why did I need to buy fire extinguishers last week, why do I make our guard dog sleep where we can get her if there is a problem

I am also told I think too much, and have a plan to get out of our house in the event of fire, we also have a well discussed plan on how to get someone to hospital 24KMs away in the middle of the night

May god bless the families and victims of the fire

There must be well rehearsed plans in the event of an emergency

Would that be the same god that caused or let this horrific and torturous tragedy happen in the first place? And now "It" is going to "bless" the families? ? ? Would this be the same god-thing that allows thousands of children to miserably starve to death EVERY SINGLE DAY? Not to mention all the other horrible pain and suffering and disease and awful death.

Time to grow up people and let go of the imaginary friends. Time to grow up and face REALITY.

+ 1 Burned and may god 'bless' dead bodies of little girls? And bless the families? Stop blessing around, please.

[oldsailor35]

Those who worked at schools. Can you explain the need for locking doors from the outside?

Do the kids / people go out after hours? Do they let in strangers? How common is burglary?

NO fire escape door should have any lock on the outside. Any locking device should be on the inside and be easily released. Normally a "Panick Bar" which is opened by just pushing against, no keys etc.

Edited May 23, 2016 by oldsailor35

[KKr]

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

Parents sent their children to get proper education, at a government sponsored institution as I understand, and what do they get? Irresponsible people not taking care, no fire escapes, no safety, no seniors in charge.. .. .. ..

Feel very sad for the children and wish the relatives strength to cope.

[oldsailor35]

Chiang Rai schools dormitory fire caused by overheated neon lamp: police

The Nation May 23, 2016 4:19 pm

Forensic science police have checked and found that the fire that killed 17 girls at the dormitory of Kiart Pitthaya School in Chiang Rai was caused by an overheated neon lamp, a senior police officer said.

Pol Maj Gen Sant Sukhawat, the commander of the Forensic Science Centre 6, said the lamp became overheated and melted and dropped into a pile clothes in the recreational room. The clothes were kept there for handing out to the poor.

The heat of the melted lamp caught fire on the clothes and spread quickly.

Nationmultimedia

-- The Nation 23 May, 2016

Would be interesting to see the attempt of explaining an "overheated" neon lamp. Only in Thailand can major accident investigation be undertaken in 5 minutes including a full report and recommendations by the highly trained and experienced accident investigation dept. of the BIB.

Going by their illustrious efforts on Koh Tao. we all know how good Royal Thai Police forensic experts are .

[Bangkokazy]

17 girls died after fire at school in Thailand

At least 17 girls died when it caught fire in a dormitory at a school in Chiang Rai in Thailand. The school has pupils aged three to 13 years.

The fire broke out late last night while several of the children at the school were sleeping.

- The fire broke out at 2300 on Sunday, 17 girls were killed and two are still missing while five others were injured, said police chief Prayad Singsin in Vingpatao district in the province of Chiang Rai told AFP.

The fire is now extinguished, but you still do not know the cause of the fire according to police.

- The school has pupils aged three to 13 years, said the police chief of the province.

Several children were sleeping

- There were 38 students in the dormitory when the fire started, fortunately not all asleep, says the governor of the region Arkom Sukapan.

Most of the children who survived the fire were awake when the fire broke out.

- Most of the victims were sleeping when the fire broke out, said Prayad Singsin told Reuters.

The school on their Facebook page that the school will be closed until Friday.

The school is run by a private foundation, and students belonging to poor minority groups in mountainous areas in northern Thailand.

These groups reached often not public institutions, which goes beyond education, health and development in the region.

Edited May 23, 2016 by Bangkokazy

[Artisi]

Those who worked at schools. Can you explain the need for locking doors from the outside?

Do the kids / people go out after hours? Do they let in strangers? How common is burglary?

NO fire escape door should have any lock on the outside. Any locking device should be on the inside and be easily released. Normally a "Panick Bar" which is opened by just pushing against, no keys etc.

Sorry, no useless western ideas allowed, if it wasn't invented (read copied or cloned) in Thailand - no can use.

[Artisi]

17 girls died after fire at school in Thailand

At least 17 girls died when it caught fire in a dormitory at a school in Chiang Rai in Thailand. The school has pupils aged three to 13 years.

The fire broke out late last night while several of the children at the school were sleeping.

- The fire broke out at 2300 on Sunday, 17 girls were killed and two are still missing while five others were injured, said police chief Prayad Singsin in Vingpatao district in the province of Chiang Rai told AFP.

The fire is now extinguished, but you still do not know the cause of the fire according to police.

- The school has pupils aged three to 13 years, said the police chief of the province.

Several children were sleeping

- There were 38 students in the dormitory when the fire started, fortunately not all asleep, says the governor of the region Arkom Sukapan.

Most of the children who survived the fire were awake when the fire broke out.

- Most of the victims were sleeping when the fire broke out, said Prayad Singsin told Reuters.

The school on their Facebook page that the school will be closed until Friday.

The school is run by a private foundation, and students belonging to poor minority groups in mountainous areas in northern Thailand.

These groups reached often not public institutions, which goes beyond education, health and development in the region.

Thank you for the update, wouldn't have know the facts surrounding this disaster with out your help.

[Artisi]

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!

"How do these things happen"........................Only one answer to that, Neglect and complacency on the part of the school administrators. Someone must take the responsibility for this.

Come on now, you've been here long enough to understand the rules.

[mcfish]

My wife bless her says I worry too much, why did I need to buy fire extinguishers last week, why do I make our guard dog sleep where we can get her if there is a problem

I am also told I think too much, and have a plan to get out of our house in the event of fire, we also have a well discussed plan on how to get someone to hospital 24KMs away in the middle of the night

May god bless the families and victims of the fire

There must be well rehearsed plans in the event of an emergency

Would that be the same god that caused or let this horrific and torturous tragedy happen in the first place? And now "It" is going to "bless" the families? ? ? Would this be the same god-thing that allows thousands of children to miserably starve to death EVERY SINGLE DAY? Not to mention all the other horrible pain and suffering and disease and awful death.

Time to grow up people and let go of the imaginary friends. Time to grow up and face REALITY.

+ 1 Burned and may god 'bless' dead bodies of little girls? And bless the families? Stop blessing around, please.

yeah its all a bit skewed. No mention of why god chose these little girls to burn ?but lets forget that little elephant in the room and he can now bless the families instead

[Inyourendo]

In God's care now.

Really ? ... if the tool cared, they would not be dead ...stoopid bloody comment

Edited May 23, 2016 by Inyourendo

[bggg]

Whenever I'm in an enclosed, especially crowded area, I'm always aware of an exit or a possible escape route.

My accompanying Thai friends never give it a moment's thought. In fact, more than once, they've chided me for my "paranoia."

Disconcerting.

My Daughters used to dance at the Chiang Mai Kad Suan Kaew theater. They would lock the side doors when the performance started. Their father and I took issue with this as a fire hazard. They staff laughed and said well people will walk in and interrupt the show. As much as we tried to make them understand how dangerous this was to lock all doors except for 1 in the very back, no one understood and acted as if we were crazy not to understand the "bigger" problem of side doors opening during a performance.

[bggg]

I have no interest in recriminations at this stage. All I want to know is which charitable Foundation, if any, supports them and why there appears to have been no requests for immediate help in the form of donations, temporary shelter, grief counselling etc. Can anyone enlighten me? I live in Chiang Rai and there are people here who would like to help!

I too have searched for what foundation runs this school. I can find no information. Does anyone know? All I see is a private foundation.

[bggg]

Culpability and acceptance of responsibility frankly don't exist here. Any investigation will go the same way as a nightclub fire.

RIP to the victims and condolences to their families.

You might be wrong on that count. The nightclub fire was resolved fairly easily, as the owner was very wealthy. As we all know, the wealthy here do not get punished. They simply buy their way out of trouble. Does this facility have a wealthy owner, or someone who is well connected? If so, minor penalties of no consequence will be levied for what is essentially 18 counts of manslaughter. The degree of negligence here is mind boggling. Will anyone be penalized? Is there a leader with a sense of justice? The owner of this facility should serve the rest of his or her natural life in a secure prison.

I have been unable to find any information on what foundation ran this school.

[BSJ]

So sad to read this. It bought a tear to my eye when I thought of the horror the little girl's would have experienced before they succumbed to death. RIP

[rudy h]

what an awful tragedy. My deepest sorrow for these families

[Dumbastheycome]

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!

if your read the news you know the doors where locked. so the children could not get out.

thailand poor safety standards?

not so sure., for example look at the american electrical plug and compare them to the european American can cause easy fire and able to electrocute you. Remember some american cars like the pinto economically cheaper to pay the victims than replace the fuel tank.

on the road the american style of the the yellow line in hte middle one never see after a few days due to sun light and dirt

white lines in the middle works.

poor health standards?

not so sure too. you have all you can wish for only thai mentality is not set to have insurance and cover events in the future

.

Just want to point out that safety comes with vision and clear mind and so called safe countries a lot can improve

but most people look not further than the tunneled vision of the newspapers and the tunnel vision most reporters have.

possibly the most facile post so far.

What you are giving as examples are how in other countries safety matters ARE exposed and highlighted and then redress is available - which is precisely what doesn't happen in Thailand.

FRom your armchair you are confident of this.

[SvenOslo]

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

Poor children. RIP

[spectrumisgreen]

Somebody needs to be locked up for this and THAT key thrown away, nothing less!!!

Neverthelss, see on here the 'High Horse Brigade' are using this simply as another reason to soap-box sanctimoniously against 'Thai Society'!!! RIP the girls, can't be said enough.. thoughts go out to those lost and their loved ones, so terribly sad is such an event.. but, please you self-righteous nobodies stop acting like such terrible things don't ever happen in our own countries!!! (Oh, yeah.. and go 'back home' if its so eternally spotless!!!)

Edited May 23, 2016 by spectrumisgreen

[SvenOslo]

Poor children. RIP

[simonuk]

Dare i suggest there be a full and extensive investigation with a no holds barred report telling it like it is.

No cover ups, excuses, avoidance of responsibility and so on. The families and the public deserve the completer truth, however ... !

Has that ever happened in Thailand?

This would require a lack of corruption and lack of concern that someone with $ may lose face. Also it would require someone extremely important giving 2 shits about the poor in Thailand.

3 reasons why it will not happen.

Nothing changed after Santika.

Fire regs are a joke.