Crime
Hotel Fire Claims Tourist in Bangkok
CHIANGRAI TIMES – Bangkok Metropolitan Police deputy commander Pol Maj-Gen, Anuchai Lekbumrung, reported this morning that a fire at the Grand Park Avenue Hotel on Sukhumvit 22, late Thursday night, was probably caused by an electrical short circuit.
According to latest news, the fire killed one unnamed female foreigner and injured 21 tourists and two Thais, who were transferred to hospitals in the vicinity.
Pol Maj-Gen Anuchai said experts from the Office of Forensic Science had inspected the hotel this morning to determine the cause of the fire.
Fire fighters took almost two hours to bring the fire under control that broke out at the Grand Park Avenue Hotel, located in a prime tourist district off Sukhumvit Road at around 2150 last night.
According to the initial investigation, the fire began on the fourth floor in a function room zone that was not in use at the time. The entire fourth floor was destroyed in the fire.
Meanwhile, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration closed the hotel declaring it off limits until the Public Works Department verifies safety and the integrity of the structure. The department will also check the fire sprinkler system to determine whether it worked properly during the fire.
The mid-range hotel has 221 rooms and is located off Sukhumvit Road, a tourist and residential district popular with foreigners.
Last week, an office block also in the Sukhumvit Road district was seriously damaged by fire, but there were no fatalities or tourists involved in that incident.
by Wanwisa Ngamsangchaikit