BangkokAP —
A massive fire broke out at a Bangkok pub in the early hours of Monday morning local time, killing at least 27 people before firefighters could bring it under control, officials said.
Footage shared online by first responders showed a massive fire raging and plumes of smoke billowing from the main entrance of a pub in Na Lad Phrao, north of Thailand’s capital. People can be seen trying to flee as thick black smoke rises into the sky. Rescuers said the fire was reported around midnight.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters at the scene that 27 people were killed and several injured were taken to hospital. He said the cause of the fire was under investigation.
Anutin said he was told by musicians playing at the pub that before the power went out, they saw smoke coming from a breaker near the stage, then heard an explosion and then thick smoke filled the area.
Many of the victims were found in the toilets at the back of the pub, Anutin added.
Firefighters took about 30 minutes to bring the fire under control. Photos of the aftermath show charred tables and chairs and the pub’s damaged interior.
Similar tragedies have occurred in Thailand in the past. In 2022, a fire broke out at a music pub in the country’s east, killing 14 people.
More than a decade earlier, 66 people were killed and more than 200 injured when a fire broke out during a New Year’s Eve celebration on January 1, 2009 at a nightclub in the Thai capital, Santika. The fire appears to have been caused by an indoor fireworks display.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
