According to Reuters, on July 13th local time, Thai officials stated that a fire broke out in a bar in Bangkok, resulting in the death of 27 people and 22 others suffering from serious injuries.
The head of the disaster prevention and mitigation department at the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Suriya Chai Ravivan, stated that 27 people were killed in the fire, and another 63 victims were sent to hospitals. Bangkok Metropolitan Mayor Chaichao Sidivun said that among the victims who were taken to hospitals for treatment, 22 are in critical condition.
According to a report by the BBC earlier, Thai Prime Minister Anuin told media officials on the scene that 27 bodies have been found, and other people have been taken to hospitals. The cause of the fire is still being investigated.
According to local media reports cited by the BBC, among the 27 victims were 9 men and 18 women. More than 60 people are receiving treatment in hospitals.
Firefighters arrived at the scene just after 0:00 local time on the 13th, and found customers attempting to flee from the front door of a bar engulfed in flames.
According to reports, video footage posted on social platform X shows people running out of bars. Some are screaming, others are falling, and at least two people appear to have fires on their bodies.
Sky News released screenshots of the fire video.
According to reports, firefighters managed to control the fire within about half an hour, but the fire has caused serious consequences.
Anuting told reporters that he asked the musicians who were performing at the time of the incident about what happened. "He said that the circuit breaker caught fire, and things developed very quickly afterward. There was an explosion, and everyone tried to escape the smoke and flames."
Anuiting said, “Many people couldn’t escape because they ran to the backs of buildings, trying to hide from the smoke and flames in toilets. We found most of the bodies there.”
The photographs taken after the fire was controlled showed that there were many bags of bodies arranged outside the bar, and cordons had been set up around the area. The furniture, walls, and ceilings of the bar were completely burnt, and some of the ceilings had even been torn off.
Associated Press
According to Thai newspaper The Daily News, a passing driver noticed the fire at the place at 11:30 p.m. on the 12th. He said that he jumped out of his car and smashed the windows to help two people escape.
The Associated Press noted that similar tragedies have occurred in Thailand. In 2022, a fire broke out at a music bar in the eastern part of the country, resulting in the death of 14 people. On January 1, 2009, fires occurred frequently in Bangkok overnight, causing the death of 66 people and injuring more than 200 others. These fires were caused by indoor fireworks displays.
