BANGKOK — A night of live music ended in unimaginable tragedy in Bangkok, where a ferocious blaze tore through a popular pub, killing at least 27 people and injuring dozens more in one of the deadliest fire disasters to strike the Thai capital in years.
The fire erupted overnight at the Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao, a well-known live music venue in Chatuchak — a northern Bangkok suburb famed for its sprawling weekend markets and beloved by tourists. By the time the smoke cleared, 27 bodies had been recovered and 63 people lay injured, 22 of them fighting for their lives in critical condition.
Thailand's Prime Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, rushed to the scorched scene in the early hours of Monday morning, telling reporters that survivor accounts pointed to a terrifying, rapid sequence: a sudden blaze at the front of the stage, then thick black smoke swallowing the venue whole.
'THE SMOKE WAS EVERYWHERE'
Firefighter Chakrit Khongkom, 45, was on the first truck to reach the burning pub. What he found was a scene of panic and desperation — patrons stranded inside, some clawing their way toward the back of the venue near the bathrooms, the few who stumbled out the front already badly burnt.
"The fire was not that aggressive, but the smoke had engulfed 100 per cent of the venue," he said. "The smoke was everywhere. Most of the survivors were choking on smoke."
Body-camera footage from an emergency worker, reviewed by Reuters, shows firefighters in oxygen masks moving by torchlight through the darkened, smoke-stained remains of the pub. Several victims lie prone on the floor near the toilets as rescue workers carry stretchers through the wreckage.
"After the explosion I didn't see anybody trying to run. Most of them were on the floor asking for help."
A BAND'S CHILLING ACCOUNT
A band member, his head bandaged, described the moment the music died. The lights briefly went out, he said — then a massive explosion, then fire, then suffocating darkness.
"I ran towards the door from the stage, about five metres," he told reporters. "It was dark, and there was smoke, no oxygen."
Bangkok's governor, Chadchart Sittipunt, said the pub had procured proper permits and had fire exits — but the fire spread with terrifying speed, and smoke filled the room so completely that escape became nearly impossible.
A FAMILIAR, HAUNTING PATTERN
For Thailand, the tragedy is a grim echo of disasters past. In 2022, 14 people were killed when fire swept through a music pub in the east of the country. And in 2009, a New Year's Eve blaze at Bangkok's Santika nightclub — apparently sparked by an indoor fireworks display — claimed 66 lives and injured more than 200.
As forensic teams worked through the early hours to identify the dead, questions were already mounting about how, more than a decade after Santika, a night out in Bangkok could once again end in such catastrophic loss of life.
AUSTRALIANS 'SHOCKED'
Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said officials were making urgent inquiries with Thai authorities to determine whether any Australians were among the dead or injured.
"Australians will be shocked to hear of the terrible loss of life in the restaurant fire in Bangkok," a DFAT spokesperson said. "Our sincere condolences are with all those affected."
For the families of the 27 who did not make it home, and for the 22 still clinging to life, the search for answers has only just begun.
I News Australia world desk, with agency reporting.
