23rd victim dies as a result of the Mountain B Pub fire

The tragedy continues from the horrific fire that consumed the Mountain B Pub in Sattahip, Chon Buri on August 5. The blaze claimed its 23rd victim nearly a month after the fire. This victim is the 10th person to die in the hospital following the catastrophe which initially claimed 13 lives inside the flaming pub.

The latest victim is a 27 year old army officer who had sustained burns on over 60% of his body during the fire and had been fighting for his life for the last 28 days. Lt Panupong Wongpakpaiboon passed away from his injuries at a Rayong hospital yesterday.

The owner of Mountain B Pub, as well as his son that initially turned himself in as the owner, have both been released on bail, and many of the victim’s families have requested the Crime Suppression Division take over the investigation, citing mistrust of the Sattahip police who immediately transferred five officers after the fire.

Five more victims remain on ventilators in hospitals. Some of the previous victims who made it out of the burning building, but later succumbed to their injuries:

• 22nd victim: On August 28, a 30 year old Thai woman became the ninth person to die after being hospitalised. Her full name was not given, only a photo and the nickname Pla.
• 21st victim: The 27 year old victim was identified as Mr Napat Fungthammasarn, an engineer who spent 22 days in the hospital fighting to survive. Just two days earlier, doctors in Bangkok performed an operation on his leg in an attempt to save his life, but it failed and he succumbed to his injuries on Saturday.
• 20th victim: Little information was released of the 20th person to die, reported on August 20, except confirmation that nine of the 20 victims still hospitalised were on ventilators.
• 19th victim: Ice, a 23 year old woman passed away at Chon Buri hospital on August 15 at 2.50am today – leaving her five year old daughter without a mother or father. “Ice” went to Mountain B with her boyfriend, 30 year old Chatchai “Im” Chuenkha, who worked as a singer in the nightclub. Im died on the night of the fire.
• 18th victim: A young girl of 17 called Mind, who had been on life support in the hospital since the night of the fire, passed away at 10.14pm on August 12. “Mind” was the third minor to die in the fire, after a 17 year old and an 18 year old (a friend of Mind’s) were found dead inside the club after the fire. The owners say they don’t know how underage people were able to get inside the pub.
• 17th victim: Lt. Cl. Palitdet Chumngern, a marine in the Royal Thai Navy, died at 7.54am August 11 at Sririraj Hospital, according to the Chon Buri Provincial Public Relations Office.
• 16th victim: A 23 year old man identified as Sittichai Ouilert died at Chon Buri hospital at 10.21pm on August 9.
• 15th victim: A 30 year old man had been part of a group at the club that night celebrating his birthday and died on the evening of August 6. Two other members of the group were trapped in the fire and perished as they had reserved a table right by the stage making it difficult to get to the one accessible exit.

SOURCE: Thai PBS World