Chiang Mai death hotel is coming down

The Chiang Mai hotel at the centre of a mystery after four guests - three of them tourists - died at the northern Thailand property, is being demolished to make way for a new hotel.

The Downtown Inn made headlines amid claims that chemicals used there might have caused the deaths.

A British couple, a 23-year-old New Zealander, and a Thai tour guide all died within 16 days in adjoining rooms at the three-star Downtown Inn in February 2011.

Thai health authorities initially blamed "toxic seaweed" for one of the deaths, but it later emerged that hotel staff might have been over-zealous with the use of pesticides to remove bed bugs.

The Bangkok Post reported that an official report - released after a five-month probe into the incidents - concluded that three of the deaths were probably connected to the use of pesticides.

Chiang Mai authorities have subsequently introduced a series of public health safety measures which they hope will offer greater protection to tourists.

by Ian Jarrett

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

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