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Fire rips through Bangkok mall killing one
A blaze in a shopping and residential plaza in Bangkok's Chinatown district killed one person and injured at least 38 others, police said on Monday.
- AP
- Published: 23:35 January 5, 2009
- Image Credit: AP
- Fire fighter give first aid to a survivor of a fire at the Sau Pa shopping mall on Sunday in Bangkok. At least 30 people trapped inside the shopping mall, police said.
Bangkok, Thailand: A blaze in a shopping and residential plaza in Bangkok's Chinatown district killed one person and injured at least 38 others, police said on Monday.
The fire broke out on Sunday night at the Sua Pa Plaza, trapping a number of residents who attempted to reach the building's roof for evacuation by helicopters.
Police Colonel Senit Samransamruadkit quoted witnesses as saying the fire started in a mobile telephone shop on the first floor and spread quickly. "The cause is not yet known. We are still investigating," he said.
The body of one man was found inside the building and 38 people were injured, he said. Earlier local press reports said 47 people had been injured.
"There were more than 100 residents trapped by the fire, however, we were able to evacuate all of them," Senit said. "Fifteen retreated to the rooftop. We had to use a helicopter to help them out. Large numbers escaped through the fire exit stairs."
The incident follows a New Year's Eve fire that killed at least 64 revellers at a jammed Bangkok nightclub, and the deaths of 314 people in traffic accidents over the five-day holiday.
Thai officials raised the nightclub fire death toll by two yesterday after a Japanese man and another unidentified victim died in hospital.
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