Bangkok pub fire kills ۲۷, wounds dozens: What we know

EXPLAINER

The blaze – one of Thailand’s worst in recent history – also injured more than ۷۰ people, many of them critically.

A deadly fire has ripped through a popular nightclub in Thailand’s capital Bangkok, killing at least ۲۷ people and wounding dozens of others.

The fire ripped through the popular Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao bar at around midnight on Sunday, as people tried to flee amid thick black smoke billowing into the sky in the northern part of the city.

Videos shared online by the first responders showed a huge blaze raging and plumes coming out of the bar’s front door.

It was the deadliest fire in Thailand since a blaze tore through Bangkok’s Santika Club during New Year celebrations in ۲۰۰۹, killing ۶۷ people and injuring more than ۲۰۰.

So, what led to Sunday night’s fire and how have authorities responded to the incident? Here’s what we know:

What happened?

Bangkok city officials say the fire broke out shortly before midnight on Sunday, and it was about half an hour until firefighters brought it under control.

“Everybody was running, squeezing into each other,” Athipat “Ice” Wijarn, whose band was on stage when the fire broke out, told Thai talk show Hone-Krasae on Monday.

The lights went out, and they noticed smoke coming from the electrical circuit on the wall behind them, he said. As he crawled towards the exit, he said, “There was an explosion, and I got hit at the back of my head. I felt the heat and the burn.”

In televised remarks from the scene of the blaze, Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Monday said ۲۷ “lifeless” bodies were moved out. “Some were sent to hospitals. We are checking their conditions,” he said.

The city’s medical department said ۷۳ people were injured, ۲۵ of those ⁠critically, while ۳۲ people had been treated and sent home.

What led to the fire?

The pub is located at a busy intersection in northern Bangkok, connected by its urban rail systems. It is also adjacent to two shopping malls, within walking distance of cinemas, large parks, and the Chatuchak Weekend Market that is popular in the daytime with foreign tourists.

The area has a number of bars with live music that are usually crowded on weekend nights.

City officials said their initial assessment was that an electrical short circuit in an air conditioner on the ceiling might have caused the fire.

Police officials say they are also investigating the possibility of some exits being obstructed, doors locked, and flammable materials used in stage decorations and soundproofing to improve the sound quality at the bar.

Thai National Police Chief Kittharath Punpetch told journalists that most of the dead were found trapped in windowless bathrooms near one of the rear exits of the bar, where they may have sheltered to escape the flames in the hall.

He said the exit had not been used, and people may have been obstructed from reaching it either by a table set up in the hall to sell candy, or because it was too dark to find the exit.

Authorities are also looking at the electrical wiring in the ۵۰-year-old building and investigating whether any decorations may have fuelled the fire, he said.

“At this time, police have established negligence as the primary theory guiding their investigation,” Kittharath added.

Reporting from Bangkok, Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng said there were four exits at the bar, “but a number of them might have been locked”.

“And that is apparently where they found the largest number of bodies. Many people also taken from the scene are suffering from smoke inhalation,” he said.

The area around the pub has been cordoned off as dozens of forensic officers comb through the burned remains for clues about what caused the fire.

Cheng said Sunday’s fire has caused concern among people in Bangkok.

“This is not the first time this has happened,” he said. “The worst accident was in ۲۰۰۹ when a nightclub burned down, killing more than ۶۰ people. And every time it happens, we hear government officials promising renewed safety regulations and fire regulations, and yet these accidents continue to happen.”