A massive fire broke out in a famous live music pub in Thailand’s capital Bangkok late Sunday night. At least 27 people died in this accident, while 63 people were injured. The condition of 22 people among the injured is said to be critical. This is one of the largest fire incidents in Bangkok in recent years. The incident happened at 12:02 am at a restaurant and live music pub named Na Ladprao. At that time the hall with a seating capacity of more than 300 people was almost full.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul reached the spot and confirmed the death of 27 people. Those who died included 9 men and 18 women. According to officials, within minutes of the fire, smoke spread throughout the pub. Panicked people ran towards the toilet located at the back to save their lives, but there was no way out. Due to this, many people got trapped inside and died due to suffocation.
Many bodies found near the fire exit
Eyewitnesses said that the smoke spread so fast that people did not get time to come out. Many people ran backwards, but could not find the right path. Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said the pub had the necessary licenses and fire exits, but an investigation was underway to determine whether any exits were blocked by luggage. Many dead bodies were found near the fire exit, due to which it is suspected that the exit route was not completely open.
The fire department official said that the relief team had reached the spot within 5 minutes of receiving the information. But by then the fire had spread throughout the building. Inside, tables and chairs were lying on the way, which made the rescue work very difficult. Due to the intense heat and dense smoke, relief workers had difficulty going inside.
More deaths occurred due to suffocation
Officials clearly said that most of the people died not due to fire but due to suffocation due to smoke. According to the fire brigade staff, within a few minutes smoke had filled the entire pub. In the body camera video, rescue workers were seen wearing oxygen masks and searching for people inside. Many bodies were found near the toilet.
The investigation into how the fire started is still ongoing. A band member told that first the power went out suddenly. After this, smoke came out from the circuit breaker near the stage and then there was a huge explosion. As darkness and smoke spread, there was a stampede in the entire pub.
Such accidents have happened before also
After this accident, questions are again being raised on the fire safety system of bars and nightclubs in Thailand. Earlier, 25 people had lost their lives in the Mountain B Nightclub accident of 2022 and 67 people had lost their lives in the Santika Club accident of 2009. Now the police is investigating whether ignoring safety rules became the reason for this major accident.
Also read: Japan becomes Russia’s new spy base, what is the connection with Ukraine war?
Leave a Reply