World

Bangkok bar fire kills at least 30 people

Police investigate negligence and blocked exits at Rong Beer Na Ladprao, a bolted door meant to stop walkouts becomes part of the evidence

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Wreckage from the scene of a fire at Rong Beer Na Ladprao pub in Bangkok, Thailand, where at least 30 people died in a fire. Photograph: Teera Noisakran/JNA/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock Wreckage from the scene of a fire at Rong Beer Na Ladprao pub in Bangkok, Thailand, where at least 30 people died in a fire. Photograph: Teera Noisakran/JNA/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock theguardian.com
A mourner stands outside the Bangkok pub where dozens died in a fire on Monday. Photograph: Adryel Talamantes/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock A mourner stands outside the Bangkok pub where dozens died in a fire on Monday. Photograph: Adryel Talamantes/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock theguardian.com

A fire at Bangkok’s Rong Beer Na Ladprao pub has killed at least 30 people, according to The Guardian, with police saying negligence is the primary theory guiding their investigation. Disaster officials’ initial assessment pointed to an electrical short circuit in an air-conditioning unit in the ceiling. By Tuesday, authorities had confirmed the identities of 27 victims, with three still unidentified.

The details emerging from the scene describe a familiar pattern in fast-growing cities where nightlife revenue is high and safety enforcement is intermittent. Investigators are examining whether exits were accessible, after most victims were found trapped in windowless bathrooms near one of the rear exits. That rear exit was not used during the fire, and officials are looking into whether access was blocked by a table set up to sell candy or whether it was too dark for people to find their way out.

Other escape routes appear to have been compromised in smaller, cumulative ways. The Guardian reports that access to another exit near the kitchen may have been narrowed by shelving units and lockers, and there were signs at least some exit doors might have been locked. A video shared by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s office showed a door that had once been an exit bolted shut, with a “staff only” sign—reportedly because the proprietor feared customers would leave without paying.

Those choices shift risk onto customers at the moment it matters most. A business that keeps people inside to protect the till can do so every night without consequence—right up until a ceiling fire turns a single-storey room into a smoke-filled trap. The same is true for decorative materials and wiring: investigators are assessing the ceiling above a performance stage for flammable elements and how the electrical system was installed, areas where shortcuts are often cheap and inspections are often negotiable.

The casualty figures underline how quickly the margin for error disappears. The Guardian reports 24 people are in critical condition, with others suffering moderate injuries, while dozens with minor injuries have returned home. Video posted on social media showed people fleeing as flames shot out of the building and black smoke billowed into the sky; some who escaped through the front ran through flames and sustained life-altering injuries.

The fire is described as Bangkok’s deadliest blaze in 17 years. At Rong Beer Na Ladprao, investigators are now checking whether doors meant for emergency escape were treated as staff corridors and payment-control points instead.