Authorities are planning to press charges against the owner of a luxury resort, on Koh Kut island in Thailand’s eastern province of Trat, for failing to maintain the fire alarm system.
The alarm was not triggered when massive fire broke out early in the morning of Sunday, an incident which could have led to loss of guests’ lives.
One of those guests is a medical influencer who took to Facebook, reporting that she had suffered a fractured vertebra during her escape from the blaze. She was, she claims, faced with the choice of undergoing surgery or six weeks of bed rest.
She has chosen the latter, saying it will allow her to resume daily activities sooner, while insisting she saw no smoke detector in the bedrooms as claimed by the resort in the statement.
An initial investigation shows the resort has insurance worth 902 million baht and that it did have smoke detectors installed, just that they seemed to not be working at the time of the incident.
Trat Governor Chamnanwit Terat, who inspected the site, has also criticised the hotel’s operator for its tardiness in its communication with the authorities and its lack of clarity on how affected customers may be compensated.
