Bangkok bar fire toll reaches 30 as police examine blocked exits

The death toll from a fire at a Bangkok music bar has climbed to 30, Thai officials said Tuesday, as police investigate whether safety failures or negligence contributed to the disaster. The inquiry is focused in part on exits at Rong Beer Na Ladprao, where officials said dozens were hurt and 24 people remained in critical condition.

Firefighters brought the blaze under control in about 30 minutes late Sunday, according to officials cited by Al Jazeera, AP and Reuters. The single-story bar is in the Chatuchak area of Thailand’s capital.

Thai officials said dozens of people who received treatment after the fire had been released from hospital. Former patrons and mourners went to the scene Tuesday to leave flowers and condolence messages on guardrails set up around the bar, according to the reports.

Police look at exits and possible ignition source

Royal Thai Police chief Kittharath Punpetch said investigators are examining whether bar management complied with safety rules. He said the venue had four exits, but police were checking whether two at the rear were blocked or could not be used.

Kittharath said one exit near the restrooms, where most victims were found, had a table in the way. Another exit near the kitchen had a damaged exit sign and a sliding door without a handle, he said.

Police are also investigating whether gas canisters were kept in the kitchen and whether they played a role in the fire, Kittharath said. Authorities have said an electrical short circuit in a ceiling air conditioner could have started the blaze at the pub, which had undergone a safety inspection in April.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said a musician who was performing at the bar told him smoke appeared to come from a circuit breaker near the stage before the power failed. The musician said an explosion followed and dense smoke spread quickly through the venue, according to Anutin.

City promises more inspections

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said Tuesday that the city had formed a committee to establish what happened, what needs to be improved and whether rules should be changed. He said Bangkok would carry out more random checks.

Lee Young Ju, a fire safety professor at South Korea’s Kyungil University, said the fire may have begun with an electrical fault. Lee said possible sources included audio or lighting equipment, or faulty wiring, and that flames could then have spread rapidly across the ceiling.

The fire has drawn renewed attention to safety conditions in entertainment venues in Bangkok. Police have not announced a final cause, and the investigation into the bar’s management, exits and possible ignition points remains under way.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.