At least 27 dead in Bangkok bar fire

BANGKOK: An explosive fire at a popular bar in Thailand's capital Bangkok has killed 27 people, the country's prime minister and other officials said on Monday (Jul 13), in one of the deadliest such incidents in the tourism hub in recent years.

An AFP journalist saw several black body bags on the ground outside the Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao bar and restaurant early Monday morning, while dozens of emergency service workers thronged the scene.

Numbered bodies lay in two rows awaiting removal, surrounded by a large number of rescue workers. Firefighters stood near the bar's entrance, its facade scorched and blackened by the blaze.

"The fire spread very quickly, reaching up to the ceiling. Smoke was likely the main cause of death," Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt told reporters outside the venue on the outskirts of the Thai capital.

He said 27 people were killed and 63 were hospitalised with injuries, including 22 in critical condition, adding that authorities had launched an investigation.

A number of the victims were found near the fire exit and authorities believe there may have been obstructions blocking it, he said.

"I heard loud screaming from a lot of people inside - chaos happened," Laotian tourist Kan Kutirat told AFP.

He shared a video on Facebook, verified by AFP, that showed patrons - several with their shirts ablaze - fleeing into the street as flames surged out the door.

Kan said he was drinking alone at the bar at around 10pm on Sunday when he noticed smoke rising near the stage.

"I never experienced anything like this before," he said. "The images are still stuck in my mind."

He said he helped carry a woman out of the bar.

On his post, he added: "I could only get one person out. I tried my best. I'm sorry."

SMOKE, THEN AN EXPLOSION AND FIRE

Looking inside the bar, an AFP reporter saw a row of stools and bottles of beer still on tables covered with white dust.

The smell of burned plastic lingered over the area several hours after the fire broke out, while most of the windows of the bar were blown out.

A small crowd of people gathered behind the cordon of metal barricades and police tape, some of them in their pyjamas.

Thai national police said in a social media post at around 2am Monday that the fire had been "brought under control".

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul had earlier visited the scene.

He said musicians at the venue described "smoke from a circuit breaker near the stage followed by the power going out and an explosion".

"Most of the victims ran to the back, to toilets with no exit. It could be because of panic because there was fire and smoke in the restaurant," Anutin told reporters.

He gave the same death toll, 27, while local police also confirmed to AFP the same number.

A band member at the venue told local media that smoke suddenly filled the room after the lights briefly went out, followed by a massive explosion and fire.

"After the explosion I didn't see anybody trying to run, most of them were on the floor asking for help," he told reporters, his head still bandaged, without giving his name.

"I ran towards the door from the stage, about five metres. It was dark and there was smoke, no oxygen."

Thailand's lax approach to health and safety regulations - particularly in its bars and nightclubs - has long raised concerns.

Twenty-five people died after a fire ripped through the Mountain B nightclub in Thailand's eastern Chonburi province in 2022.

A huge fire tore through a New Year's Eve party at Bangkok's Santika club in 2009, killing 67 people and injuring more than 200.