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Bangkok pub fire toll
A fire at the Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao bar in Bangkok killed at least 27 people and injured dozens more, with the blaze breaking out shortly before midnight on Sunday and spreading rapidly as flames reached the ceiling and then the main entrance.
“Death toll from Bangkok pub fire rises to 28 - Global Times WORLD / ASIA-PACIFIC Death toll from Bangkok pub fire rises to 28 By Xinhua Published: Jul 13, 2026 11:23 PM The death toll in a deadly pub fire in Bangkok, capital of Thailand, rose to 28, according to a government release on Monday”
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt told reporters at the scene that "27 people have died and 63 have been hospitalised with injuries, between them 22 in critical condition," and he said authorities opened an investigation.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said a musician performing at the bar told him he saw smoke coming from a circuit breaker near the stage before the power went out, followed by an explosion and thick smoke filling the bar.
Suriyachai Rawiwan, director of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, said the injured were taken to hospitals and that the incident left 22 people in critical condition.
AFP’s verified video showed customers shouting as flames came out of the entrance, with a journalist seeing multiple body bags on the ground outside the bar and restaurant early Monday morning.
Exit access and smoke
Multiple accounts tied the deaths to blocked or obstructed escape routes, with Chadchart Sittipunt saying victims were found near an emergency exit that authorities believed could have been blocked.
Khaleej Times reported that "obstructed emergency exits hindered patrons choking on smoke from escaping the burning venue," and it quoted Chadchart saying there were beer crates in the way of one exit and a table blocking the other.
The Telegraph reported that Anutin said many bodies of the nine men and 18 women who died were found in lavatories at the back of the venue, adding that "Many of them were not able to make their way out" because they went to the back and tried to hide in the toilet.
Firefighter Chakrit Khongkom, 45, told Reuters that the smoke was everywhere and that most survivors were choking on smoke, describing how those coming through the front were burnt.
A survivor quoted by The Times of India said, "Most of the victims ran to the back, to toilets with no exit," as officials examined whether blocked exits and obstructions contributed to the death toll.
Investigations and safety scrutiny
Authorities said they were examining the bar’s safety and the circumstances around the fire, including whether emergency exits were obstructed or unusable and what materials in the ceiling may have helped the blaze spread.
Euronews said the local investigation followed a Facebook promotion for a concert this month, noting the venue had a stage, two bars and a kitchen, a total capacity of more than 300 people, and four emergency exits.
ABC News reported that police were investigating whether gas canisters were stored in the kitchen and whether they contributed to the blaze, alongside examining ceiling materials and whether any emergency exits were obstructed.
The Times of India said officials were also looking at whether blocked exits may have contributed to the high death toll, adding that investigators believed there "may have been obstructions blocking it" near a fire exit.
In the aftermath, the Thai government and officials emphasized that the incident was under investigation while survivors and relatives waited for forensic teams to identify victims, with body-camera footage reviewed by Reuters showing firefighters in oxygen masks searching through the smoke-filled remains.
