Bangkok bar fire kills at least 28 people

A fast-moving fire tore through a packed Bangkok bar during a live performance Sunday night, killing at least 28 people and injuring dozens more as patrons tried to escape through smoke, flames and confusion.

The blaze broke out shortly before midnight at Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao, a popular venue in the city’s northern Chatuchak district, while the Thai indie band Thotsakan was on stage. Firefighters brought the flames under control in about half an hour, city officials said.

Athipat “Ice” Wijarn, the band’s manager, said he was seated off stage when he saw smoke emerging from behind the keyboardist. The keyboardist, Kwang, shouted for people to flee. Within seconds, the room filled with smoke and flames.

“Everybody was running, squeezing into each other,” Athipat told the Thai talk show Hone-Krasae. He said he crawled toward the exit before an explosion threw him out of the bar. “There was an explosion, and I got hit at the back of my head. I felt the heat and the burn,” he said, according to Al Jazeera.

Kwang, Thotsakan’s female singer Breeze and drummer Bew later died from their injuries, according to a Facebook post from band member Patchara Songphatkaew. Another member, Din, was initially missing but was located Monday evening, according to a social media post; his condition was unclear. Lead singer Tik Chaichana escaped unhurt because he had gone to the bathroom moments before the fire began, Thai media reported.

“I’m safe, thank you everyone for your concern. But my phone and all my belongings burned… My mind is truly not okay right now,” Tik wrote on Facebook.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Monday that 27 “lifeless” bodies had been removed from the scene. Thai authorities later confirmed at least 28 deaths, the BBC reported. The BBC said at least 71 people were injured, 25 critically. Al Jazeera, citing the city’s medical department, reported 73 injuries, including 25 critical cases, and said 32 people had been treated and released.

Videos posted online showed panicked customers screaming as they fled through the burning front entrance, some with their clothes on fire. “There was a boom — a very fast boom… There was no way to get out at all,” survivor Usa Tadsree, 41, told Reuters, adding that two of her friends died.

Others described failed attempts to reach people trapped inside. “I heard people screaming. I wanted to go help my brother but I can’t get in,” Kaewudon Pongpanee told Reuters. “There was smoke, dust, heat.”

Officials are investigating what caused the blaze and why so many people could not escape. City officials said an initial assessment pointed to a possible electrical short circuit in an air conditioner on the ceiling, while police are also examining electrical wiring in the 50-year-old building.

Bangkok Governor Chatchart Sittipunt said flammable ceiling decorations may have helped the fire spread quickly. He also said reports of people found unconscious near an emergency exit suggested there may have been an obstruction, though he said investigators needed to confirm the details.

Thai National Police Chief Kittharath Punpetch said most of the dead were found trapped in windowless bathrooms near a rear exit, where they may have sheltered from flames in the hall. He said the exit had not been used and that people may have been blocked by a table set up to sell candy or unable to find the way out in the darkness. Police are also investigating whether exits were obstructed, doors were locked, or flammable materials were used in stage decorations and soundproofing.

“At this time, police have established negligence as the primary theory guiding their investigation,” Kittharath said.

Residents and former customers described the bar as dark and difficult to navigate. Sirinya, who lives nearby and had visited once, told BBC Thai it had a low ceiling and unclear escape routes. Phatsara Khamloet, who visited in May, called the interior “maze-like” and said the exits were not well marked.

“The moment I stepped in, my first feeling was, ‘Whoa, if there’s a fire, how would we even get out?’” she said.