Bangkok shutters 83 pubs after fire-safety inspections
Dozens of pubs in Bangkok were temporarily closed on Saturday after fire-safety inspections ordered in the wake of a deadly blaze in Chonburi.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said he had ordered inspections of entertainment venues in every district of the capital.
Eighty-three of the 400 Bangkok venues inspected have been shuttered after inspectors found problems with fire exits and escape routes.
Chadchart, an engineer by profession, said escape routes should be obvious and clearly signposted to aid victims’ chance of survival in dangerous situations.
He ordered further inspections in a bid to weed out Bangkok entertainment venues that are operating illegally.
Chadchart said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration will ensure thorough inspections across the city.
The move comes after a blaze at an unlicensed pub in Chonburi’s Sattahip district left 15 people dead and 37 injured in the early hours of Friday.
Authorities across the country have ordered inspections of nightspots.
