Devastating Fire at Bangkok Music Bar Claims Lives

A massive fire swept through a music bar in Bangkok, claiming at least 27 lives and leaving 25 individuals in critical condition. The fire erupted at the Rong Beer Na Ladprao bar, located in northern Bangkok, just before midnight on Sunday. City officials reported it took approximately 30 minutes for firefighters to control the blaze. The bar, which identified as a brewery or beer hall in Thai, offered live music and could host up to 600 patrons. The exact number of attendees during the incident remains unknown.

Bangkok’s Erawan emergency services recorded 73 injuries, with 25 critically injured. By Monday evening, the city’s official death toll stood at 28. According to Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt, most fatalities resulted from smoke inhalation. The area was secured by early Monday, as forensic teams searched for the fire’s cause. Observers saw the bar’s windows shattered, with debris including scorched equipment littering the sidewalks. The interior devastation was visible through broken windows, with tables charred and empty beer bottles still present.

Most of the deceased were trapped in windowless bathrooms near a rear exit, seeking refuge from the flames.

Thai national police chief Kittharath Punpetch stated that a table selling candy or insufficient lighting might have blocked access to this exit. Another exit near the kitchen was possibly obstructed by shelves and lockers. Investigators suspect some exit doors were locked. Attention is focused on the ceiling above the stage, where potentially flammable decorative materials may have been used. Police will also assess electrical wiring installations across the ceiling.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul shared that a musician performing at the bar noticed smoke from a circuit breaker near the stage, followed by a power outage and explosion. Social media videos revealed people escaping the building as flames and smoke engulfed the structure.

Buddhist monks arrived on Monday to perform prayers for the victims, while nurses distributed face masks to mitigate smoke inhalation. A registration area was set up for family members seeking information about missing relatives. Singer Sukanya Wongwongwai, who performed nearby, rushed to the bar upon hearing news of the fire. She reported that one band member perished, three were injured, and one was initially missing but later found hospitalized. The bar released a statement on Facebook, expressing condolences and cooperating with investigators. The bar’s owner was seriously injured and remains in intensive care.

Grieving relatives arrived at Bangkok’s Institute of Forensic Medicine to identify victims. A woman, identified only by her nickname, Nid, confirmed the identities of her daughter and son-in-law, both deceased in the tragedy. She described her son-in-law as hardworking and her daughter as recently graduated and now a computer teacher. Keo Oudone Poungpany, a worker from Laos, identified his brother’s body at the institute. Both were employees present during the fire’s outbreak. Poungpany recounted staying outside the bar and witnessing chaos unfold. He expressed a desire to return his brother’s body home to their waiting parents.

This incident echoes previous tragic fires in Thailand, including one in 2022 where 14 perished at another music bar, and a devastating 2009 fire during a New Year’s Eve celebration at Santika nightclub in Bangkok, which killed 67 and injured over 200.