BANGKOK
The death toll from a huge fire in a Bangkok music bar has increased to 30, officials said Tuesday. More than 70 people were injured, with 24 of them still in critical condition, according to a statement by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.
The blaze at the Rong Beer Na Ladprao bar was the city’s deadliest in 17 years. It broke out late Sunday in a northern part of the Thai capital, and firefighters needed half an hour to bring it under control. The fire left 25 people hospitalized in critical condition, city officials said. Bangkok Gov. Chadchart Sittipunt said most of the deaths were caused by smoke inhalation.
By daybreak Monday, the site had been cordoned off as dozens of forensic officers sought clues about what caused the fire. The bar’s street-facing windows were blown out, and debris littered the sidewalk, including charred television sets, speakers and an electric guitar. Associated Press journalists looking through the shattered windows could see empty beer bottles still sitting atop burned tables.
The bar, which in Thai calls itself a brewery or beer hall, claimed to accommodate as many as 600 customers. It was not clear how many were present Sunday night. According to Bangkok’s Erawan emergency services center, 73 people were hurt. The Bangkok city government said there were 28 dead, one more than Erawan’s tally. The dead were trapped in bathrooms
National Police Chief Kittharath Punpetch said most of the dead were found trapped in windowless bathrooms near one of the rear exits, where they may have sought shelter from the flames. He said the exit was not used, and people may have been blocked from reaching it by a table set up in a hall to sell candy, or because it was too dark to find the way out.
Access to another exit near the kitchen might also have been narrowed by shelving units and lockers, said Kittharath, who visited the scene Monday. There were signs that at least some of the exit doors might have been locked, he added.
Investigators focused on the ceiling above a performance stage, where they found materials that may have been used as decorative elements, he said. Police will examine whether flammable materials were used in the interior and how electrical wiring was installed across the ceiling.
