BANGKOK – A catastrophic overnight blaze that ranks as Thailand’s capital’s deadliest fire in nearly two decades has ripped through a single-story music venue in northern Bangkok, leaving at least 27 people dead and 25 others in critical condition as of Monday morning.
The fire erupted at the Rong Beer Na Ladprao bar shortly before midnight on Sunday, with dramatic eyewitness and aftermath photos capturing patrons fleeing the building as bright orange flames burst through the roof and thick, acrid black smoke billowed into the night sky. Scattered abandoned shoes left by rushing evacuees litter the ground outside the venue, a haunting marker of the chaos that unfolded during the escape.
Firefighters took roughly 30 minutes to bring the blaze under control, and by dawn on Monday, the entire site had been cordoned off to allow dozens of forensic investigators to sift through charred rubble for evidence to pinpoint the fire’s origin. The building’s street-facing windows were blown completely out by the force of the blaze, and debris including burned-out speakers, televisions, and a warped electric guitar covered the surrounding sidewalk. Through the shattered glass, onlookers could see gutted interiors, where blackened tables still held intact empty beer bottles amid the destruction.
Thailand’s national police chief Kittharath Punpetch, who toured the disaster site on Monday morning, told reporters that most victims were found trapped in windowless bathrooms near one of the venue’s rear exits. It appears many people fled to these small spaces to escape flames spreading through the main hall, but were never able to exit the building. Multiple obstacles likely blocked access to usable escape routes, he explained: a temporary candy sales table set up in the main hall blocked one corridor, total darkness after the fire cut power left many unable to navigate, and shelving units and employee lockers narrowed access to a second exit near the bar’s kitchen. Kittharath added that investigators have found preliminary indications some exit doors may have been locked at the time of the fire.
Investigators are currently focusing their examination on the ceiling structure above the venue’s performance stage, where decorative materials were installed. Authorities will conduct testing to determine if those decorations were made from flammable materials, and will also inspect the condition and installation of electrical wiring running through the ceiling. Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters that a musician who was performing at the bar when the fire started reported seeing smoke emanate from a circuit breaker near the stage moments before the power cut out. Shortly after the outage, an explosion was heard, and thick toxic smoke rapidly filled the entire venue.
Official data from Bangkok’s Erawan emergency services center puts the total number of injured at 73, 25 of whom remain in critical care. Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt noted that nearly all fatalities were caused by smoke inhalation, rather than direct burns. Authorities are currently working to identify all victims, as many were not carrying official identification when the fire broke out.
On Monday morning, a group of Buddhist monks traveled to the site to lead prayers for the victims, while local medical workers distributed face masks to nearby residents and onlookers to protect against toxic residual fumes from the burned building. A temporary registration point has been set up outside the cordon to collect information from family members arriving to search for missing loved ones.
Local singer Sukanya Wongwongwai told reporters she had been performing at a separate venue nearby when she heard news of the fire, and rushed to the scene after learning several of her bandmates were playing a set at Rong Beer Na Ladprao. One of her bandmates has been confirmed dead, three are hospitalized, and one remains unaccounted for as of Monday afternoon. “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.
The tragedy marks the deadliest fire in Bangkok since a 2009 New Year’s Eve blaze at the capital’s Santika nightclub that killed 66 people and injured more than 200, which was traced to an indoor fireworks display. In 2022, another fire at a music bar in eastern Thailand killed 14 people, reigniting public calls for stricter safety inspections of entertainment venues across the country.