Bangkok pub fire kills 27 and injures 63

A fire tore through the Na Ladprao pub in northern Bangkok, killing 27 people and injuring 63, Al Jazeera reported, citing Thai officials. The casualty toll brought Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to the scene, where he described a fast-moving blaze that left many victims trapped inside.

Anutin said on Monday that 27 bodies had been recovered from the venue and that some people had been taken to hospitals while officials checked their conditions. Al Jazeera reported the figures in an account by its staff with AFP and AP.

The prime minister said a musician who had been performing at the pub told him smoke appeared to come from a circuit breaker near the stage before the electricity failed. According to Anutin, the musician then heard an explosion, and dense smoke rapidly spread through the venue.

Many of the victims were found in restrooms at the rear of the pub, Anutin said. The account indicated that people inside may have tried to move away from the stage area after smoke filled the building.

Rescuers said the fire was reported at about midnight, according to Al Jazeera. Footage posted online by first responders showed flames at the front of the pub and thick black smoke rising into the night sky as people tried to escape.

Firefighters needed about 30 minutes to get the blaze under control, Al Jazeera reported. Images from after the fire showed a burned interior, with tables and chairs charred inside the pub.

The Na Ladprao pub is in the northern part of the Thai capital, according to Al Jazeera. The report did not provide an official cause of the fire beyond Anutin’s account of what the musician told him about smoke near the circuit breaker, the power outage and the explosion.

Authorities were still checking the condition of those taken for treatment, Anutin said in televised remarks from the site. Al Jazeera’s report did not include further details on the identities of the dead or injured.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.