Five people were reported killed after a fire ripped through Vanmala Guesthouse in Vatnak village, Sisattanak district, also a popular Vientiane nightclub, in the early hours of Saturday morning,
Witnesses said two of the dead were women who died of smoke inhalation in second-floor rooms of the guesthouse while the blaze swept through the ground floor.
Police reported that the cause of the incident was unclear, although they are investigating a possible electrical fault.
The pre-liberation era building was converted to a guesthouse in the 1990s, with a nightclub on the ground floor and service rooms on the second floor.
The fire broke out at 4am on the ground floor before spreading upstairs. Firefighters from the nearby Sisattanak Fire Prevention and Control Brigade arrived on the scene half an hour after the alarm was raised.
Captain Chanthaboun Manivong blamed the building design for the deaths, saying there were too few emergency exits, and that inebriation was also a factor.
He requested that all guesthouses ensure they have sufficient emergency exits and clear signage for the safety of their customers in the event of fire.
Police said it was unclear how many people were sleeping in the guesthouse, but most escaped with their lives. The deaths were due to a combination of burns and smoke inhalation.
T his is the worst incident of its kind in a decade, and police have pledged to conduct a thorough investigation of the cause of the accident.
According to fire brigade records, almost 40 fires have occurred in Vientiane so far this year, mainly at residential properties.
Police noted that the fire brigade was only equipped for buildings lower than six storeys, and any structure higher than this would present a serious problem in tackling a fire.
By Somsack Pongkhao (Latest Update October 8, 2007)
Sad to hear! Vanmala happen to be one of my favorite place to party each time I'm in Viengchan. Captain Manivong was right about the building designed for the deaths. I've also notice that most of public and private structure in Lao are lack emergency exit and fire prevention products or equipments.
