At least 27 dead, 25 seriously injured after fire in Bangkok bar
People flee Bangkok bar as huge flames burst from door
ByJonathan HeadSoutheast Asia Correspondent And Dan Sales
A huge fire ripped through a bar in Bangkok on Sunday evening, killing at least 27 people and leaving 25 others injured. seriously injured.
The fire broke out near the bar’s stage in the popular Chatuchak neighborhood and then spread quickly, knocking out power and engulfing the venue in smoke, according to eyewitnesses.
Footage posted online showed panicked customers screaming as they fled – some with their clothes on fire – through the flame-shrouded front door of Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao.
Firefighters, who arrived on scene shortly after midnight, quickly extinguished the fire. They found the bodies of most of the victims in toilets, where they had apparently sought refuge.
Kaew-udon Poungppany, 24, from Laos, fought back tears as he described trying to reach his younger brother, Phonepaseut Poungppany, 21, who did not survive.
“I grabbed a fire extinguisher and sprayed it at the door… but I couldn’t go any further. I heard people screaming,” he told reporters.
Preliminary investigations by Bangkok’s disaster management department suggest the fire may have been caused by an electrical short circuit in an air conditioner, although no official cause has been given.
Authorities have promised a thorough investigation.
This is not the first time such an incident has occurred in Thailand.
Despite official promises to improve fire and electrical safety standards following previous incidents, they are still often poorly enforced.
See: Thai Prime Minister visits after deadly bar fire in Bangkok
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who visited the scene early Monday, said a musician who was playing when the fire broke out told him “there were explosions and everyone tried to run away from the smoke and flames.”
Many people didn’t come out of the bar because they “went toward the back of the building and tried to hide… in the bathrooms,” the musician said, according to Anutin.
Firefighters, alerted to the fire by a passing motorist, were able to bring the flames under control in around half an hour.
However, despite their efforts, nine men and 18 women were killed. Some 73 people were injured, including 25 in critical condition, authorities said.
Photos taken inside the bar after the fire show the furniture, walls and ceiling blackened by the flames.
People were seen rushing outside as a huge fire ripped through the bar.
Initial results suggest the majority of victims died from smoke inhalation, said Suriyachai Raviwan, director of Bangkok’s disaster mitigation department.
Bangkok Governor Chatchart Sittipunt said flammable interior decorations on the bar’s ceiling may have made it easier for the fire to spread quickly.
There were also reports of people being found unconscious near the building’s emergency exit, suggesting there may have been an obstruction, the governor added.
Authorities say these suggestions can only be confirmed through further investigation by forensic scientists.
A motorcyclist, Surin Jaiharn, told AFP he helped about five people flee the burning bar by using clothes to put out the flames on their bodies.
“I feel depressed. I have seen a lot of deaths and I don’t know the fate of the people I helped,” he told AFP.
The driver who alerted firefighters told Thai newspaper Daily News that he had broken windows to help two people escape.
Monday morning, the bar was cordoned off, with broken windows and furniture piled up in front of its entrance. Confronting images emerged of numerous body bags lined up outside the bar.
Inside, the furniture, walls and ceiling are completely blackened, with parts of the ceiling peeling off. When the BBC arrived at the scene on Monday, a pungent burning smell lingered in the air.
Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao is a popular restaurant and bar in the Chatuchak district of Bangkok
The Chatukchak district office announced on Monday that the building in which the bar is located would be closed for 30 days.
Authorities said the families of the deceased victims would receive 29,300 Thai baht ($880; £660), while those treated in hospital would receive 4,000 baht ($120; £90).
This is not the first time that Thailand has experienced such a tragedy.
In 2022, a fire broke out in a bar in a town south of Bangkok, killing 22 people.
On January 1, 2009, 66 people died in a fire at a nightclub in the capital, which also injured more than 200 others while celebrating the New Year.
In 2024, a fire started by an electrical short circuit at the famous Chatuchak open-air market killed 1,000 animals.
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