Club blaze Briton tells of 'death trap'

A BRITON who escaped the Thai nightclub inferno which claimed up to 60 lives today described the venue as "a death trap" as it emerged it did not have a valid licence.

Eight hundred people were crammed into the Santika club in Bangkok on New Year's Eve when fire engulfed the building. Dozens of revellers were killed as they were caught in the flames or overcome by smoke, and some died in a stampede for exits in pitch darkness. Londoner Alex Wargacki, 29, who was recovering in hospital after being helped from the burning building, said: "The Santika was a death trap. But so are many, if not most night-time venues in Bangkok. They keep the exits to a minimum because they owners do not want anyone to run away without paying a bill. Foreigners living here come to accept that. But the club still has to accept responsibility for the deaths and injuries."

Mr Wargacki, from Finchley, added: "I am going to insist the club pays my hospital bill, which after one day is already over £1,500."

Yesterday he told how he was saved by a man he described as "an angel". He said: "I woke up and heard this voice saying: 'Come on. Come on this way.' Then I felt myself being dragged towards an exit. A crowd of people parted in front of me and then I was out in the open air. Had it not been for this voice with the hand of an angel I would not be alive today."

It has been claimed that the club's owners did not have the correct permits to operate. Deputy Commissioner General Jongrak Juthanon of the Royal Thai Police said the force had refused to allow the Santika to open in 2004 but it had opened anyway while appealing to a Bangkok court.

The fire - thought to have been started by a firework - killed 58 people and injured more than 200, including four Britons.