A devastating fast-spreading fire that tore through a popular bar-restaurant on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand, late Sunday has left at least 27 people dead and dozens more injured, senior Thai officials have confirmed. The blaze, which erupted shortly before 10 p.m. local time, triggered chaotic scenes as panicked patrons rushed for exits, with eyewitness footage verified by Agence France-Presse (AFP) showing flames pouring from the venue’s entrance and fleeing guests, some with their clothing already alight.
By early Monday morning, when emergency responders brought the fire under control, first responders and AFP correspondents on scene counted 27 black body bags lined up outside the Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao venue, while more than 130 emergency personnel worked to clear the site and assist survivors. In a media briefing shortly after the blaze, Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt explained that the fire spread rapidly to the building’s ceiling, and toxic smoke inhalation is believed to be the leading cause of death for most victims. As of Monday, 63 injured people remain hospitalized, 22 of whom are in critical condition, and official investigations into the cause and any safety failures have been launched.
Chadchart added that multiple victims were found clustered near the venue’s secondary fire exit, leading investigators to suspect that exit was blocked by obstructions that prevented trapped guests from escaping. For many trapped inside, the panic of the rapid spread only worsened the outcome, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters during his early Monday visit to the disaster site.
“Most of the victims ran to the back, to toilets with no exit. It could be because of panic because there was fire and smoke in the restaurant,” the prime minister said, confirming the 27-death toll that has been verified by both national and local Thai police. According to accounts from musicians performing at the venue that night, the incident began when smoke started billowing from a faulty circuit breaker near the stage, followed by a total power cut and a small explosion.
One eyewitness, Laotian tourist Kan Kutirat, who was drinking alone at the venue when the fire broke out, told AFP he noticed smoke near the stage before chaos erupted. “I heard loud screaming from a lot of people inside — chaos happened,” he said. He managed to escape the building and helped carry an injured woman out to safety, but shared his grief in a public Facebook post after the incident: “I could only get one person out. I tried my best. I’m sorry.” Kan added that the traumatic experience has left haunting images that he cannot shake: “I never experienced anything like this before. The images are still stuck in my mind.”
Hours after the fire was contained, an AFP tour of the damaged venue showed beer bottles and stools still arranged at tables, now covered in a layer of white ash, with all of the bar’s windows blown out by the force of the early explosion. The acrid smell of burnt plastic lingered across the cordoned-off site, where local residents and friends of those missing gathered behind police tape, many still in their nightwear, waiting for updates.
The tragedy has once again drawn attention to longstanding concerns over lax enforcement of health and safety regulations at entertainment venues across Thailand. This is not the first fatal nightclub fire to hit the country in recent decades: in 2009, a blaze at Bangkok’s Santika Club during a New Year’s Eve celebration killed 67 people and injured more than 200, and a 2022 fire at the Mountain B nightclub in eastern Chonburi province claimed 25 lives.