A huge fire engulfed a beer hall in Bangkok overnight into Monday, killing at least 27 people and injuring dozens before firefighters brought the blaze under control, authorities said.
Video shared online by first responders shows a huge blaze raging and plumes coming out of the front door of the Na Ladprao beer hall in the northern part of the Thai capital. People are seen trying to flee as thick black smoke billows into the sky.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire, but Bangkok Gov. Chadchart Sittipunt said investigators would examine the ceiling materials and whether any emergency exits may have been obstructed, potentially making it more difficult for people to evacuate.
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The Bangkok city government said the fire broke out shortly before midnight Sunday. People fled to the back of the bar, near the bathrooms, but witnesses say many became trapped and were unable to escape. Fire crews found bodies there, slumped on the ground.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters at the scene that 27 people died.
“Can the door be opened?” he was heard asking first responders as he observed one exit. The firefighter responded to say it was “locked with two bolts at the spot that’s used as an exit,” prompting Anutin to shake his head.
By Monday morning, the site had been cordoned off as dozens of Thai forensic officers combed through the burned remains for clues about what caused the fire.
The building’s street-facing windows had been blown out and debris littered the sidewalk, including charred television sets, speakers and an electric guitar. From outside, the scale of the devastation was visible through the shattered windows, where burned-out tables, some still holding empty beer bottles, remained inside.
Some Buddhist monks visited the site Monday morning to pray for the victims, while nurses handed out face masks to people nearby to help protect them from smoke and lingering fumes from the burned-out building.
Anutin said a musician who was performing at the bar told him that he saw smoke coming out of a circuit breaker near the stage before the power went out, then an explosion was heard and thick smoke quickly filled the place.
Many of victims were found at the restrooms at the back of the bar, Anutin added.
Bangkok Gov. said 63 people were taken to the hospital, 22 of them in critical conditions. He said authorities are working on identifying victims as many did not carry an ID or were unconscious.
Firefighters took about half an hour to bring the fire under control. Photos of the aftermath show charred tables and chairs, and the damaged interior of the bar.
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A registration spot was set up to gather information from relatives coming at the scene looking for their loved ones.
Singer Sukanya Wongwongwai said she was performing nearby when she heard news of the fire and rushed to the scene because several of her bandmates were performing at the bar. She said one of them died, three were hospitalized, and one hasn’t been located.
“From what I heard from people who were inside, when the fire started everything went dark. The power was out and there was smoke everywhere, so they couldn’t locate other people,” she said.
Scooter drivers passing by saw the blaze and tried to help with rescue efforts. One man used his clothes to extinguish flames on people’s bodies.
“More people were coming out when the fire exploded from the door,” he said. “We couldn’t help any more.”
Thailand has seen similar tragedies in the past. In 2022, 14 people were killed by a fire at a music pub in the eastern part of the country.
More than a decade before that, 66 people were killed and more than 200 were injured in a fire during a Jan. 1, 2009, New Year’s Eve celebration at the Santika nightclub in Thailand’s capital. That blaze was apparently sparked by an indoor fireworks display.