At least 27 people have been killed and 63 injured in a fire that engulfed a pub in Bangkok early on Monday morning, officials said.
Rescuers said the fire was reported at about midnight.
Footage shared online by emergency services personnel showed the blaze raging out of the front door of the pub in the northern part of the Thai capital as people tried to flee, with thick black smoke billowing into the sky.
Thailand prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters at the scene that 27 people had died and several had been taken to hospital. He said the cause of the fire was under investigation.
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Local media identified the venue as Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao.
Firefighters took about 30 minutes to bring the fire under control, officials said.
Photos of the aftermath show charred tables and chairs and the damaged interior of the pub.
Most of the victims were found near the back of the venue, near the toilets, according to officials.
The location of the victims’ bodies has raised questions about the venue’s layout and its emergency preparedness precautions. The Bangkok governor, Chadchart Sittipunt, said that there may have been a table blocking one of the fire exits.
He said there would be an inquiry into the venue’s compliance with legal requirements, including permitting, and said that the owner was apparently among those injured in the blaze. Chadchart said a contact centre would be established for the victims and their relatives.
Chadchart said that, based on plastic chairs and tables in the venue that were still intact after the fire, it seemed the flames spread quickly along the ceiling. He did not state a cause for the fire, saying that a forensic investigation was under way.
About 18 people with injuries were taken to nearby hospitals.
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.
And more than a decade before that, 66 people were killed and more than 200 injured in a fire during a January 1st, 2009, New Year’s Eve celebration at the Santika nightclub in Thailand’s capital.
That blaze was apparently sparked by an indoor fireworks display. – AP/Reuters/New York Times
