Bangkok bar fire: death toll reaches 30 as police investigate negligence as ‘primary theory’ | Thailand

The Bangkok bar that was the scene of the city’s deadliest fire in 17 years said it would cooperate with an investigation into allegations of negligence as the death toll rose to 30.

Three more people have died following a devastating fire early Monday, the local district office said Tuesday. In the first assessment made by disaster officials, it was determined that the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit in the air conditioner in the ceiling.

Authorities have confirmed the identities of 27 victims, three of whom have not yet been identified. Most are believed to be Thai nationals. Of the injured, 24 were in critical condition, 15 had moderate injuries, and 36 returned home with minor injuries.

National police chief Kittiratt Phanphet told reporters on Monday: “At this time the police have determined that the main theory guiding their investigation is negligence.”

In a statement posted on social media on Monday evening, Rong Beer Na Ladprao bar expressed its “deepest apologies for this tragic incident” and offered its condolences to the families of those killed.

Authorities flagged investigations into whether the exits were accessible, while the bar in the city’s north also pledged its full support to the investigation and “transparent information gathering process.”

Most of the victims were trapped in windowless bathrooms near one of the back exits, Kittharath said. Kittharath said this exit was unused and people may have been prevented from reaching it by a table set up to sell candy or because it was too dark outside to find a way out.

Access to another exit near the kitchen may also have been restricted by shelves and cabinets, according to the chef who visited the scene Monday.

He added that there were signs that at least some of the exit doors may have been locked.

In a video shared by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s office during an investigation at the scene, the leader was told that a door that was once an exit door had been bolted, the owner fearing customers would run out without paying their bills.

The door had a sign saying “staff only” and could open to the outside, but Anutin customers wouldn’t know about it, an official said. “It would be nice if they ran like that,” Anutin replied.

Kittharath said inspectors also considered the ceiling above the performance stage. Police will examine whether flammable materials were used in decorative elements and how electrical cables were laid on the ceiling.

Video posted on social media showed people running away as flames rose from the single-storey building and black smoke rose into the sky.

Those who managed to escape through the front doors walked through the flames and suffered life-changing injuries.

Boyfriend of 31-year-old woman who ran from the building during the fire he told local outlet Khaosod People around helped him extinguish the flames. When they were reunited, she said, the woman told her: “I can’t take it anymore. I’m in so much pain. Am I still beautiful?”

Like Kaewudon, most of those who survived unharmed did so only by luck Pongpanee, 24, was a bar worker using the outside toilet when the fire started. He said that when he saw people running away from the flames, he started shouting at his brother, but “the heat was unbearable, I couldn’t get in.”

Poungpany’s younger brother, Pongpaset Pongpanee, who also worked at the bar, was inside at the time.

The brothers were both migrant workers from neighboring Laos. Poungpany came to the police hospital morgue on Monday to identify his brother’s body.

“I want to bring him home to my family. My family is waiting for their children to be reunited, but now one of them is gone,” he said.

With Associated Press and Reuters.