Death toll from a Bangkok music bar fire rises to 30
Death toll from a Bangkok music bar fire rises to 30
Death toll from a Bangkok music bar fire rises to 30
The death toll from a huge fire in a Bangkok music bar has increased to 30, officials said, as the investigation into the blaze proceeded while relatives of the victims took on the grim task of identifying their loved ones and retrieving their bodies.
More than 70 people were injured in the Sunday night tragedy, with 24 of them still in critical condition, according to a statement by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. Initial details about the victims said 18 of the dead were women and nine were men, all Thai except one bar employee from Laos. The injured included 41 women and 34 men.
The blaze at the Rong Beer Na Ladprao bar, the city's deadliest in 17 years, broke out shortly before midnight in a northern part of the Thai capital. Firefighters needed half an hour to bring it under control. The bar, which in Thai calls itself a brewery or beer hall, claimed to accommodate as many as 600 customers. It was not clear how many were present Sunday night.
An investigation into the cause of the fire and whether the bar was following safety regulations is ongoing. Most of the people who were killed were found trapped in windowless bathrooms where they may have sought to escape the flames, police said.
Bangkok Gov. Chadchart Sittipunt said he has ordered the city's administration to conduct a sweeping survey of such establishments to assess risks. The city will also step up enforcement of existing laws to improve safety standards, he said.
Former patrons of the bar and other mourners visited the site to leave flowers and condolence messages on the guardrails cordoning off the bar. Handwritten messages in Thai and other languages, including Korean, were left alongside white flowers, expressing condolences to the victims. Debris from the bar, including melted musical instruments and blackened chairs, lay scattered along the sidewalk, moved there by officials investigating the cause of the fire.
University student Thanakon Phoklang said he was passing by and wanted to pay his respects, calling the loss regrettable. "It was regrettable," he said. "It's impossible to feel anything else."
Namthip Tubsuk, a mother of two and teacher nicknamed "Ice," died in the fire, according to her aunt Jittiya Phaiklaw, who focused on reports alleging exit doors had been locked. "They shouldn't have locked the doors," Jittiya said. "If they were afraid the customers would get away, they could have had the security guard staff minding them away." Jutatip Surakumhang, a friend of Namthip, said an apology was owed. "I feel there must be someone coming out to apologize to everyone who died. There were deaths deserving an apology. It was heartbreaking," Jutatip said.
The bar issued an apology and condolences on Facebook and vowed to cooperate with investigations into the fire.
On Monday, the president of the Thailand Structural Engineers Association, Amorn Pimanmas, told reporters outside the bar that, while he had not inspected the venue, he observed some risk factors that could worsen fire hazards. He said the building is enclosed, has low ceilings and may have used foam as decorative materials, without adequate flame-retardant treatment. Combined with limited air ventilation, smoke would accumulate quickly, he said, creating toxic air that could be the main cause of death for many victims.
“There must be some kind of revolution regarding fire safety procedures, and I think law enforcement is also very important,” he said. “It’s not that we don’t have the law, but it’s the problem of how the law could be strictly enforced from now on. I think the government should answer this question.”
