A massive fire ripped through a beer hall in Bangkok overnight into Monday, killing at least 27 people and injuring dozens before firefighters brought the blaze under control.
Footage shared online by first responders shows a huge blaze raging as plumes billow out of the front door of the Na Ladprao beer hall in the northern part of the Thai capital. People can be seen trying to flee as thick black smoke fills the sky.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire, but Bangkok Gov. Chadchart Sittipunt said investigators would examine the ceiling materials and check whether any emergency exits may have been obstructed, a factor that could have made it more difficult for people to evacuate.
The Bangkok city government said the fire broke out shortly before midnight Sunday.
By Monday morning, officials had cordoned off the site as dozens of Thai forensic officers combed through the burned remains for clues about what caused the fire.
The blast had blown out the building’s street-facing windows, and debris littered the sidewalk, including charred television sets, speakers and an electric guitar. From outside, the shattered windows revealed the scale of the devastation, 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 help protect nearby people from smoke and lingering fumes from the burned-out building.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters at the scene that 27 people had died.
Anutin said a musician who had been performing at the bar told him he saw smoke coming out of a circuit breaker near the stage before the power went out, then heard an explosion as thick smoke quickly filled the place.
Anutin added that rescuers found many of the victims at the restrooms at the back of the bar.
Bangkok’s governor said hospitals had admitted 63 people, 22 of them in critical condition. He said authorities were working to identify victims, as many did not carry 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.
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.
In 2022, a fire killed 14 people at a music bar in the eastern part of the country. And more than a decade before that, a fire during a Jan. 1, 2009 New Year’s Eve celebration at the Santika nightclub in Thailand’s capital killed 66 people and injured more than 200. An indoor fireworks display apparently sparked that blaze.
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