Bangkok Chiong Scene / Massage / AGoGo / Clubs / Disco

[Charmaine]

Conspiracy theorists have gone to town with speculation rife on Thai message boards that it wasn't merely pyrotechnics that started the blaze.

The party was labelled "Goodbye Santika" because it was going to be the last night for the club at its current Ekkamai premises. The lease for the new year wasn't going to be renewed because the landlord and the owner of the place couldn't agree on fresh terms and it was said that Santika was going to relocate with a different name.

It is common knowledge in Bangkok that when a place gets too popular for its own good then when it comes to re-negotiation the landlord will try their best to muscle as much additional lease rates as possible, sometimes at ridiculous levels. It is said that the owners of Santika were extremely unhappy with their new terms and, just possibly, planning to torch the place on fire on the last night as a revenge tactic. Many survivors have stepped forward to give their own account of what they saw, and contrary to news reports, none of them said they saw any inflammable fireworks or pyrotechnics on display on the stroke of midnight - most clubbers were holding onto sparklers for the countdown which were relatively harmless. Apparently, the only fireworks on display were fired from the building opposite Santika from the outside of the club. Eyewitnesses swear they saw the row of lights just above the stage catch fire first, followed by the ceiling just above it. One Thai pilot, who presumably must be trained sufficiently in fire safety procedures over the course of his career, described the fire as spreading throughout the club at an extremely unrealistic rate - it took all of 30 seconds for smoke to engulf the entire club and all the lights went off immediately thereafter, igniting immediate panic.

Of course, several other coincidental factors (form your own conclusions) only serve to fuel these speculations up a notch. Santika's website marketed this event by strategically placing bouts of flames throughout their pages, and there was a fake coffin in the club that very night. It didn't help that none of the Management team (or shareholders) were present on the stage or the event that night, as Thai club businessmen traditionally do on the last day, to thank patrons and communicate directly with their customers. All of the band members or MCs performing or scheduled to perform on the stage that night escaped unharmed.

Just to top it all off, the fire started just after midnight on January 1 - the owner's old lease legally ended on 31 December 2008. No prizes for guessing who will be responsible for the backlash if something happened immediately after the lease expired.

Just sharing what I've read, and I'm in no way a bandwagon jumper on conspiracy theories, but for the police to quickly discount the possibility of an arson without getting into a full inquiry first feels a tad irresponsible.

[Midnightiger]

Two Singaporeans who were in the vicinity of the Santika Pub when the fire broke out just after midnight on New Year’s day remain unaccounted for.

Singapore’s Foreign Ministry and its Embassy in Bangkok have been in close contact with their next—of—kin.

In a statement, it added its Embassy in Bangkok is working closely with the local authorities to determine their status; and also if there are any other Singaporeans affected.

One Singaporean man was among the 60 people killed in the fire.

Two other Singaporeans suffered minor injuries.

Local media reports put the total number of injured at about 200.

Police say the fire may have been caused by firecrackers or pyrotechnics or an electrical fault but have ruled out arson.

Source: Yahoo

[Playman]

Just Like to Wish All Brothers here...a Very Happy new year 2009....Heng Heng all the way!

[bkkguru]

who could have thought that there would be a conspiracy behind this. but seriously, goodbye Santika? No Santika representative have given any statement too. gosh. I really wouldn't rule out arson though. But I seriously hope that this is not the case.

[monvantee]

LMP

I am too .. feeling sad down cos Zantika is a place that I very regular with my frens and Zantika do have many memorable moments and also everyday when i go to work and go back home... will always drive pass by Zantika. And in fact such tragedy can happen anywhwere like Muse (was there for Xmas+NYE) , Jet, Curve, Escudo, RCA's, BED, Parkbridge, Tapas etc ... and it will take sometime before I am mentality prepared to go those places again ....

ไซมอน
"Feels sad with the fire tragedy in Zantika.. Deepest condolences to the family who lost their loved ones"

Originally Posted by lostmypants

Yeah damn sad this thing happened....

Just found out I lost at least 3 frens (thai gals) in the incident....reallly a wake up call......life is full of unexpected stuff....

Feeling damn fucked up now...

LMP

[PreludeAsians]

Originally Posted by Charmaine

Conspiracy theorists have gone to town with speculation rife on Thai message boards that it wasn't merely pyrotechnics that started the blaze.

The party was labelled "Goodbye Santika" because it was going to be the last night for the club at its current Ekkamai premises. The lease for the new year wasn't going to be renewed because the landlord and the owner of the place couldn't agree on fresh terms and it was said that Santika was going to relocate with a different name.

It is common knowledge in Bangkok that when a place gets too popular for its own good then when it comes to re-negotiation the landlord will try their best to muscle as much additional lease rates as possible, sometimes at ridiculous levels. It is said that the owners of Santika were extremely unhappy with their new terms and, just possibly, planning to torch the place on fire on the last night as a revenge tactic. Many survivors have stepped forward to give their own account of what they saw, and contrary to news reports, none of them said they saw any inflammable fireworks or pyrotechnics on display on the stroke of midnight - most clubbers were holding onto sparklers for the countdown which were relatively harmless. Apparently, the only fireworks on display were fired from the building opposite Santika from the outside of the club. Eyewitnesses swear they saw the row of lights just above the stage catch fire first, followed by the ceiling just above it. One Thai pilot, who presumably must be trained sufficiently in fire safety procedures over the course of his career, described the fire as spreading throughout the club at an extremely unrealistic rate - it took all of 30 seconds for smoke to engulf the entire club and all the lights went off immediately thereafter, igniting immediate panic.

Of course, several other coincidental factors (form your own conclusions) only serve to fuel these speculations up a notch. Santika's website marketed this event by strategically placing bouts of flames throughout their pages, and there was a fake coffin in the club that very night. It didn't help that none of the Management team (or shareholders) were present on the stage or the event that night, as Thai club businessmen traditionally do on the last day, to thank patrons and communicate directly with their customers. All of the band members or MCs performing or scheduled to perform on the stage that night escaped unharmed.

Just to top it all off, the fire started just after midnight on January 1 - the owner's old lease legally ended on 31 December 2008. No prizes for guessing who will be responsible for the backlash if something happened immediately after the lease expired.

Just sharing what I've read, and I'm in no way a bandwagon jumper on conspiracy theories, but for the police to quickly discount the possibility of an arson without getting into a full inquiry first feels a tad irresponsible.

Yess very suspicious.. I am currently still in BKK and read the newpaper this morning and it said "the Police still can not contact the owner of The Santika Club."

[Kapunkap]

I had friends inside that club at that time, both thai and singaporeans (eg: both males named A & B). All of them escaped unharmed but were damn lucky as they were sitted at the 2nd table from the right side of the stage area. All of them ran immediately once they saw the fire spreading from the stage to the ceiling and immense heat can be felt. By then, everyone was shouting "Bpai Bpai! ", and everyone was pushing amongst themselves for their lives to the exit. Within a few moments, the lights went out. Male A started running towards the steps to the main entrance but fell thrice and got up. He was damn lucky not to be caught in a stampede. He managed to squeeze his way through although suffering burns. He was one of the singaporeans injured in hospital on the news report. Male B wasn't so lucky. He tried giving way to young girls behind him, and was pushed to the back of the crowd from the stairs and fell to the basement toilet. By then, when he wanted to get back up, the ceilings had already fell and caused a blockade to the main dance floor. He along with 50 others (most of them girls i heard) ran to the toilet and hide. It was there where they saw the female singer dead in the toilet naked. Apparently, her clothes were burned. No one knows why she was there. Girls in the toilet cried while a police officer along with one of the Santika staff began consoling them and chanting scriptures and tried to calm them. Many used wet towels to aid in respiring through the thick smoke. There were others outside desperately trying to get in but were denied entry. All of em were trapped for almost an hour till firemen came, the moment my friend went out, dead bodies laid everywhere outside the toilet door, some of em laying with their hands up on the air and eyes open. Really thankful all my friends survived this ordeal. What a tragic start to the new year.

Originally Posted by yinyang

Condolences to those who lost someone they knew. Tragic start to 2009.

Shocked with news alert early morning, and even troubling was the sight of shrouded bodies on primetime telly.

FL I did yesterday morning shared with me her relief that she was due to be at Santika's countdown, but (fortunately!) her sg flight could not be changed last minute. And my tg gal was thinking of either Santika or Muse but decided against in favour of another local neighbourhood joint, wary of large crowds expected.

Thanks bro....its tragic but really a wake up call......u never know when the person you took for granted yesterday may be gone tomorrow....

LMP

[MrBBBJ]

Was discussing with my colleage today at office about the fire break out. Got a few thought about the fire break out. My frenz feel tat maybe owner of santika was trying to get a insurance payout by planning a small fire in the club. but in the end, it didt go with plan. it have become worst..

A very sad news for this new year..I only went there once and it is a nice place. Hope tat the police can find the club owner ASAP for further investigation..

[Tarawadee]

Originally Posted by MrBBBJ

Was discussing with my colleage today at office about the fire break out. Got a few thought about the fire break out. My frenz feel tat maybe owner of santika was trying to get a insurance payout by planning a small fire in the club. but in the end, it didt go with plan. it have become worst..

A very sad news for this new year..I only went there once and it is a nice place. Hope tat the police can find the club owner ASAP for further investigation..

Same feelings. The short notice of the pub closing down, meant negotiation failed last minute. This means hatred/bad feelings between owner and landlord. With the fire on the final day of operations....too much coincidence. In addition, I heard from my waitress friend that Santika will turned into another night spot, fueling this owner vs landlord thing. Adding to this, the police chief, quickly ruled out arson or deliberate action to start that fire. I won't be surprise if that police guy is part of this whole conspiracy. This is after all Thailand. Can't help but feel this is some kind of revenge by owner against landlord. The real loser here is the landlord. He lost the building and potentially his next tenant. No matter what, the actions/results were downright cruel.

What I written above are purely rumours and speculations but I just can't help feeling this way. RIP to those unfortunate and speedy recovery to those affected.

[MrBBBJ]

I`m wrong, coz i just watch the news and they say santika doest have any lincese due to building inspection fail. but they still open for bussiness 5 years ago..

[Charmaine]

They did have a license - as a night-time food shop which required them to close by 12am every night. Just typical Thailand.

A survivor who was on the second floor balcony when it happened, interviewed by CNN, BBC and Channel 7 UK, lost 3 friends to the disaster and posted on various Thai-language forums that he strongly believes the fire originated from the outside of the club when the roof of the building caught fire. Many clubbers had left the premises temporarily in a bid to witness firework displays setting off outside the club from the soi opposite Santika at the stroke of midnight, and the survivor recalled some of them running back into the building shouting "fire" - we assume one of the pyrotechnic rockets must have hit the roof and caused the initial spark. The interior would naturally become a death-pool of sorts - clubbers holding onto sparklers, foam-made sound proof ceiling, plenty of alcohol (the survivor said he saw whiskey bottles exploding and setting those who happened to be standing around it on instant fire), coupled with 1000 people on three floors wrestling out of a single exit in the dark, and we can thank God for the minor miracle that there were people who actually survived.

[luvcunt]

Police to charge Santika owner
By: BangkokPost.com
Published: 2/01/2009 at 01:26 PM The police planned to charge a major shareholder of Santika pub named Visuk Setsawad, better known as Hia Khao, for allowing people under 20 years of age to enter the venue.

A fire broke out at the nightclub located in Bangkok's Thong Lo district when partygoers were celebrating the New Year's countdown. The fire left at least 61 dead and 243 injured.

The police had interrogated 25 witnesses so far and had excluded arson in their investigations after knowing that the venue's insurance contact expired a long time ago.

However, Hia Khao had yet to appear before the police.

Forensic police could not identify 21 bodies yet.

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Conspiracy theory is totally out.

Arson is rule out.Also it does not benefit the owner to sabotage the landlord bcos he'll the first to be prosecuted for
1) underage patron
2) Safety regulation not been followed
3) even though he did not renew santika insurance but the landlord might so no reason for the arson.

[bkkguru]

police should still charge him with negligence. for that amount of people dying they're just gonna give him 1000 baht fine for letting a minor into the club. but the owners should still offer compensation packages to the victims. anyone knows whether the victims could take this case against the owners of santika. I believe that they should try though.

[loopjoop]

Originally Posted by lostmypants

Thanks bro....its tragic but really a wake up call......u never know when the person you took for granted yesterday may be gone tomorrow....

LMP

hope not ch.., re..., or mo..