Search Results for: blaze
- Cannabis News
Phuket Books: A question of savages
PHUKET: I picked up Don Winslow’s Savages (Simon & Schuster, New York, 2010, 358pp) with a good deal of eagerness, having just finished the much-lauded prequel The Kings of Cool, which impressed me with its zany energy, veering between screenplay, poetic stanzas and wise-guy syncopated prose, deeply empathic with the surfer/grass dealer ethos of Laguna Beach, California. Winslow is a…
- Phuket News
Flames engulf two Phuket tour buses
PHUKET: A fire devoured two parked tour buses on Phuket in the middle of the afternoon yesterday, causing an estimated 7-million-baht worth of damage, though no one was reported injured.The fire broke out on board the recently-arrived Phuket-Songkhla route bus, operated by the Sukda Bus Service, and then spread to another bus, said Phuket City Police officer Capt Somchai Noobun,…
- Phuket News
Arson not suspected in Patong lifeguard tower fire
PHUKET: Police do not suspect arson caused a fire on Patong Beach last night that destroyed about 13,000 baht of sun loungers and beach umbrellas.Patong Police Duty Officer Pratueng Polmana told the Phuket Gazette that he received a report of a lifeguard tower on Patong beach being ablaze at about 12:05am.Patong Municipality firefighters rushed to the scene and extinguished the…
- Phuket News
Fire damage to Phuket LPG cargo ship estimated at B400k
PHUKET: Damage to the liquid propane gas (LPG) cargo ship that caught fire off Phuket yesterday may reach up to 400,000 baht, the Phuket Gazette was told today.“The communications room was heavily damaged by the fire. We believe that’s where it started. The radio and radar systems were damaged, as were a storeroom and one room in the crew’s quarters,”…
- Phuket News
Breaking News: Tiger Disco charged over inferno deaths
PHUKET: The operators of Tiger Discotheque have been charged with negligence causing death and physical and mental injury to others, as well as with trading after hours, Patong Police Superintendent Chiraphat Pochanaphan has confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. The blaze that broke out at the nightclub, just before 4am on August 17, while hundreds of patrons were still inside the…
- Phuket News
Patong police defer action in Tiger Disco investigation
PHUKET: Police yesterday declined to commit to pressing any charges against the operators of the Tiger Discotheque over the fire that destroyed the venue and killed four people, including two tourists in Phuket’s main tourism town, Patong. Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangkul chaired a meeting with Patong Police to review the forensics report into the cause of the fire and…
- Phuket News
Forensic report into cause of Phuket’s Tiger Disco fire postponed
PHUKET: After all the noise made by officials about the urgency to uncover the truth of the Phuket nightclub fire in August, the release of the investigators’ official report has been postponed while the forensic specialists attend a seminar in Bangkok.Superintendent of the National Office of Forensic Science stated during the investigation of the fire at the Tiger Discotheque on…
- Phuket News
Flood takes steam out of Tiger Discotheque extension inquiry
PHUKET: The investigation into whether or not the alleged “extension” to the ill-fated Tiger Discotheque in Patong was legal fell flat last week after Patong Municipality admitted that it had lost the original plan to the building in a flood nearly a decade ago. The investigation was launched after four people died in the lethal blaze at the club, located…
- Phuket News
Full-scale tsunami rescue drill “freaks out’ Phuket tourists
PHUKET: Two tourists on holiday from Vietnam panicked after witnessing the full-scale tsunami rescue drill being conducted off the east coast of Phuket this afternoon. “Oh my God! My friend and I thought it was some kind of terrorist attack or that a really big accident had happened. We had no clues it was a drill.” said Ms Julie as…
- Phuket News
Four Tiger Disco victims found “one meter’ from fire exit: rescue workers
PHUKET: Rescue workers who recovered the bodies of the four people who died in the Tiger Discotheque inferno last Friday have revealed that all four bodies were found only “one to two meters” from a fire exit. “All four of the bodies were found in front of the restrooms on the second floor, only one to two meters from a…
- Phuket News
Phuket Live Wire: Goodbye to ol’ Hotmail
PHUKET: If you have a Hotmail account, you’re in for a big surprise. Microsoft is throwing away Hotmail completely. That’s quite a comeuppance for one of the best-known brands in the world. Imagine Toyota throwing away the Camry brand, or Louis ditching Vuitton. Once upon a time, Hotmail blazed new ground as the first major free web-based e-mail service when…
- Phuket News
Tiger to pay families of victims B1mn compensation each
PHUKET: The management of the Tiger Discotheque has announced that it will pay one million baht in compensation to each of the families of those who died in the blaze early Friday morning. General Manager Sema Sinchai also announced that the Tiger Group will cover all medical expenses of the 11 people injured, as well as pay compensation to them.…
- Phuket News
Tiger Disco fire: Styrofoam decor may have fuelled inferno
PHUKET: The highly flammable polystyrene foam used in making the Tiger Discotheque’s iconic decorations has been named by building inspectors as one of many possible fire hazards that contributed to the deadly fire last Friday. The news came yesterday as officers from the Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning, the Association of Siamese Architects Under Royal Patronage…
- Phuket News
Patong electricity chief denies transformer started Tiger inferno
PHUKET: The chief of the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) Patong office today refuted allegations that the Tiger Discotheque fire yesterday morning was caused by an exploding transformer. The popular nightclub was reportedly packed with tourists when the fire broke out. Four people died in the blaze. Atipong Thongyon this morning told the press, “We have checked the transformer and it…
- Phuket News
Tiger Disco Fire: Friend identifies watch, bracelet of missing Thai waitress
PHUKET: A Thai waitress who worked at the Tiger Discotheque may have been identified today after a friend recognized a wristwatch and a bracelet found on one of the four bodies incinerated by the blaze. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangkul today confirmed that several people had come forward to identify at least one of the four victims incinerated in…
- Phuket News
Tiger disco fire: Police to call in forensics experts from Bangkok
PHUKET: Forensics experts from Bangkok will be called in to assist Phuket officers in their investigation into what caused the deadly inferno at Tiger Discotheque on Patong’s Soi Bangla early this morning. The blaze, which claimed the lives of four people, may have started as a result of an electrical fault inside the building. Events inside the nightclub seem to…
- Phuket News
Forensics to probe suspected Patong jet-ski ‘arson attack’
PHUKET: Police yesterday called in forensic experts to investigate a fire that gutted a house and destroyed five jet-skis in Patong earlier that morning. At the scene, a burnt-down wooden house on Phang Muang Sai Kor Road, they discovered tyres had been placed near where the jet-skis were housed. Suspecting arson, they requested forensic assistance. Lt Col Kittisak Nuphueng, Inspector…
- Cannabis News
Thailand News: Group to appeal; Myanmar decision expected; Forest fires
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Rayong people to appeal against court verdict on land documents Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Local residents from Rayong’s Mae Ramphueng area will be appealing to the Supreme Administrative Court against the lower court’s decision to drop their complaint over the land rights documents held…
- Phuket News
Fireball engulfs Phuket marina workshop
PHUKET: Police believe that children playing with fireworks may have accidentally started a fire that destroyed a workshop at Phuket’s Yacht Haven Marina last night. Prai Junnoo, a 33-year-old security guard at the marina, reported the fire at about 9pm. Firefighters from the Mai Khao Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) and the Thepkrasattri Municipality fire brigades arrived swiftly and took 30…
- Phuket News
Fire rips through car parts warehouse in Patong
PHUKET: A fire believed to have been started by an electrical fault destroyed a car parts warehouse in Patong this afternoon.No one was reported injured in the blaze, but the damage caused has been estimated at around 100,000 baht.Responding to a call at about 12:30pm, 23 firefighters with six fire trucks and an ambulance rushed to the scene on 50…
- Thailand News
Bangkok oil refinery fire; under control
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Fire at Bangchak’s oil refinery brought under control Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: A blaze at the Bangchak oil refinery in Soi Sukhumvit 64, Bangkok, believed to have been caused by a leak in a pipeline, has been brought under control with no injuries reported.…
- Phuket News
Firemen scramble as Thai warship catches fire
PHUKET: Firefighters this morning scrambled to contain a fire that broke out on the retired warship RTMS Lanta, now a museum and tourist attraction in the heart Krabi Town. Fortunately, no people were injured in the blaze. Lt Col Thongchai Sengrod of the Krabi Town Police said that he received a report at 11am that smoke was billowing out of…
- Thai Life
Phuket Gardening: The last of the red brigade
PHUKET: It is always exciting to discover a new plant. I recently chanced on a shrub with fine, arching, broom-like leaves, and masses of tiny but brilliant red tubular flowers. Its name? Russelia equisetiformis. Despite the tongue-twisting botanical label, this is not a shrub that draws attention to itself and, in any case, it is not common in Phuket. Maybe…
- Phuket News
Arson not suspected in Phuket Sports Association VP house fire
PHUKET: Police believe an electrical short circuit started a fire at the house of Sompong Muthitakul, vice president of the Sports Association of Thailand office in Phuket, on Tuesday night.Regardless, officers have not ruled out the possibility of arson and are continuing their investigation to confirm precisely what caused the fire, Phuket City Police Deputy Superintendent Jamroon Plaiduang told the…
- Phuket News
Phuket teenage drug addicts blamed for community center fire
PHUKET: Phuket City Police believe that a fire at the Austria-Phuket Community Center in Rassada in the early hours of this morning was started by a group of teenage drug addicts known to frequent the area. It was the second time the center had been set on fire within a month. Phuket City Police received a report at 1:10am from…
- Thailand News
8 dead, 69 injured in Yala bomb blasts
PHUKET: At least eight people are dead and 69 injured after three bombs exploded in a busy shopping district in Yala Town at 11:50am today. Yala Governor Decharat Simsiri confirmed to the press that two explosions detonated near the Park View Hotel on the Ruammitr Road in Tambon Sateng of Muang district. While firefighters were trying to contain the blaze,…
- Thai Life
Phuket Lifestyle: This year’s top trends
PHUKET: The transformation of the tuxedo into women’s apparel is a bold new take on a classic look. Fortunately, you don’t actually have to wear a tuxedo just because you’re inspired by its sophistication. Instead, try taking bits and pieces of it to establish your own style. A structured jacket or waistcoat in black velvet or cream satin can add…
- Phuket News
Fire engulfs Phuket store, causes B10mn damage
PHUKET: A fire at a construction equipment store in downtown Cherng Talay this morning caused an estimated 10 million baht in damages, according to Phuket Police.Cherng Talay Police at 6am were informed of a fire at the Cherng Talay Ruam Wassadu store, located near their police station on Srisoonthorn Road.Some 10 fire trucks and 40 officers arrived, dispatched from Cherng…
- World News
Phuket Gazette: Pedophiles arrested; Journalists attacked; Rhino poaching; French bill unconstitutional
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police arrest 17 suspected pedophiles across Europe PHUKET (News Wires): European police have arrested seventeen people and rescued eight children after a year-long investigation into online networks of alleged pedophiles, the European Police Office (EUROPOL) announced yesterday. The investigation is continuing. Europol said Operation Atlantic began…
- Phuket News
Phuket beer garden fire not arson: owners
PHUKET: The owners of a beer garden that went up in flames in Phuket early this morning are denying rumors that the blaze was set by a disgruntled former employee. It took six fire engines about an hour to extinguish the fire that gutted the Kamala Beer Garden on the main road through Kamala before dawn today. Owners Chollada Nakballang,…