An explosive fire at a bar in Thailand’s capital Bangkok killed 27 people and injured dozens more, officials said on Monday (Jul 13), after obstructed emergency exits hindered patrons choking on smoke from escaping the burning venue.
One video of the incident posted on social media and verified by Reuters showed thick smoke billowing out of the pub, before an intense horizontal plume of fire jets out of a doorway, as screaming customers fled the premises around midnight on Sunday (1am, Monday, Singapore time).
“We have recovered 27 bodies, others are being sent to hospital,” said Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who visited the site early on Monday.
Another 63 people were injured, 22 critically, in the incident at the Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao pub and have been hospitalised, said Suriyachai Rawiwan, director of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.
The pub is located in a busy part of northern Bangkok connected by its urban rail systems, adjacent to two shopping malls and within walking distance of cinemas, large parks and the Chatuchak weekend market that is popular with foreign tourists.
The initial assessment was that an electrical short circuit in an air conditioner located in the ceiling caused the fire, the disaster administration said.
Based on survivor accounts, officials said the fire is understood to have started at the front stage section of the pub and spread rapidly, forcing many to run to the back of the venue, which houses the kitchen and the bathrooms.
“There are two fire exits, one is near the kitchen. There were beer crates in the way,” Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt told reporters, adding that there was a table in the way of the other fire exit, hindering evacuation.
“We need to wait for forensic investigators to examine the scene more closely,” he added.
In the early hours of the morning, emergency personnel remained at the scene as bodies were prepared for transport and forensic teams collected evidence to help identify the victims.
Numbered bodies lay in two rows awaiting removal, surrounded by a large number of rescue workers. Firefighters stood near the pub’s entrance, its facade scorched and blackened by the blaze.
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.” (CNA)