A fire broke out around 9pm local time on May 21 at the JA Plus hotel's rooftop restaurant in Pattaya, Thailand, which was not in use at the time [1, 2, 3]. Firefighters arrived quickly and partly controlled the blaze by 10pm Singapore time, fully extinguishing it about an hour after it started [1, 2, 3].
All 178 rooms in the hotel were occupied, mostly by foreign tourists, when the fire began [2, 3]. The evacuation was chaotic, with many guests trapped or fleeing through smoke-filled corridors. Pattaya Mail described it as “chaotic,” noting that four people were injured, including a man who suffered severe burns running through flames to escape [2].
The injured included one Thai man with about 20% burns, two Thai women, and an Indonesian boy treated for smoke inhalation [2, 3]. All received onsite treatment before being transported to nearby hospitals [2, 3].
The fire affected mainly the upper floors, especially the seventh floor, where guests experienced smoke inhalation [2, 3]. Authorities are investigating the fire’s cause. Structural inspections and damage assessments of the hotel are ongoing [2, 3].
