BANGKOK - The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) said on July 13 that the July 12 fire at Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao had killed at least 28 people.
Reuters identified a 21-year-old Lao migrant worker, Pongpaset Pongpanee, among the dead. He had moved to Bangkok for work and was employed at the bar with his older brother, Kaewudon Pongpanee.
Kaewudon, 24, tried to reach him with a fire extinguisher but was driven back by smoke and heat. “I heard people screaming. I wanted to go help my brother but I can't get in,” he said.
The fire began at 11:57 p.m. in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district. The BMA recorded 71 injured people at 6:11 p.m. on July 13. Twenty-five had serious injuries, 14 had moderate injuries and 32 had been discharged. Firefighters took about 30 minutes to bring the blaze under control.
National Police Chief Kittharath Punpetch said most victims were found in windowless bathrooms near a rear exit. Investigators are examining whether a table obstructed the hallway, whether darkness prevented people from seeing the route and whether doors were locked.
Shelving units and lockers may also have narrowed access to an exit near the kitchen, AP reported on July 13. The governor ordered officials to review the venue’s permits and evacuation system.
Bangkok’s disaster administration said its initial assessment indicated an electrical short circuit in a ceiling-mounted air conditioner. A musician reported seeing smoke near a circuit breaker by the stage before the power failed and an explosion was heard.
Police are also checking the wiring and possible use of flammable decorative materials. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said investigators must establish the cause, according to a government statement.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said smoke inhalation caused most of the deaths. The bar claimed it could accommodate as many as 600 customers, but authorities had not established how many people were inside. Video verified by Reuters showed customers fleeing before a horizontal plume of fire burst from a doorway.
The fire was Bangkok’s deadliest bar blaze in 17 years. The January 1, 2009, Santika nightclub fire killed 67 people and injured more than 200. Another fire at a music bar in eastern Thailand killed 14 people in 2022.
Bangkok authorities opened an assistance center for affected families. The Chatuchak District Office also issued a closure order prohibiting use of the damaged building for 30 days under Thailand’s 1979 Building Control Act.
