Fire stunt at nightclub lands bartenders in hot water

Two bartenders have gone on trial accused of burning three customers during a fire trick at a top Dubai nightspot.
 
A South African man, 47, and a 22-year-old from the Czech Republic appeared before Dubai Court of Misdemeanours on Sunday, where they pleaded not guilty to wrongly causing harm to the trio.
 
Official records state that the customers were at the trendy nightclub in January last year and were watching the Czech barman set an alcoholic beverage alight when a bottle exploded.
 
The barman said: “I was performing the fire show as entertainment. When I finished I was holding up two bottles with flames in. I was talking to a customer when my colleague added more drink and the flames spread to customers.
 
“I didn’t ask my colleague to put more drink in. I have been doing this show for a long time and no accidents happened before.”
 
A 23-year-old British woman was 2m away when the bottle exploded and she received burns to her face, neck and chest. A 27-year-old Egyptian man said he was standing near the counter when the incident happened and his hand was burned.
 
“The fire went on my hands, chest and face,” he said. “I ripped off my shirt and then an ambulance came and took me to Rashid Hospital. I had second degree burns and it has left scars.”
 
A 40-year-old French woman also suffered from second-degree burns. The South African defendant claimed that his colleague asked him to add more booze to the bottle to create bigger flames.
 
“I was only serving drinks to customers and was not part of the fire show,” he said. If found guilty of the charge the bartenders face up to one year in jail. The club declined to comment while the trial was ongoing.

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