Thai Christmas Party Ends In Disaster After Colleagues Start Fighting With Hand Grenades

An office Christmas party in Thailand erupted into chaos, after a mass brawl commenced that saw 30 people injured.

Those in attendance required instant medical attention after they were attacked by glasses, bottles, and even a homemade hand grenade. The party was organised by AutoAlliance Thailand, which is a joint venture between Ford Motor Company and Japan’s Mazda Motor Corporation, and over 4,000 members of staff were present.

The gathering was held at a restaurant in Chonburi, which is 100 km southeast of Bangkok. A police officer who went to the restaurant to qualm the disturbance noted, “They were eating and many people were drunk. Things got out of hand when some men threw bottles at each other.”

The Bangkok Post newspaper stated that the brawl began as prizes were being handed out at the front of the stage, but it wasn’t clear who initiated the commotion. The ordeal then escalated as bottles and missiles were thrown from one area of the room to the other.

This was then followed by gunshots and then witnesses revealed that they even saw a home-made grenade launched. 30 people were injured in the incident, with one of the patients believed to be in a critical condition after they were struck in the stomach by schrapnel.

The police officer, who declined to be identified, noted, “We have incidents like this every year.” Only 10 police officers from the region had been assigned to the party, and they were unable to stop the large number from fighting.

AutoAlliance have refused to release a comment but have visited their injured employees in hospital.