Fire at Mandarin Hotel under control

Fire that broke out at the Mandarin Hotel on Rama IV Road early Tuesday morning has been put under control at about 8am.

Some 16 tourists were injured from inhaling smoke from the blaze.

Initial police investigation found that the blaze started from the seven-storey hotel's second floor where a fitness room is located.

Firefighters and rescue teams found difficulties in rescuing hundreds of tourists as the fire spread to other floors due to narrow fire exits.

Helicopters that rushed to the hotel helplessly flied over the hotel because the hotel which had two connected building had no landing area.

As the fire spread to other floors, many tourists were trapped inside the building. Many tourists were seen trying to jump from the tenth and eleventh floors. Firefighters had to calm them down and rushed rescue team to evacuate them down to the floor.

The hotel consists of two building - the first seven-storey building and the other 14 storey building. There are 372 rooms in total. The fire fighters checked room by room to make sure that there was no tourists trapped inside the rooms.

The fire damaged the building and the links between the building on the 7th and 8th floor were collapsed, making it difficult for rescue staff.

Many tourists said that the hotel's water sprinkles did not work when the fire broke out.was not equipped with water sprinkles to distinguish the blaze.

The Nation