More than 70 people have been injured in the blaze at Rong Beer Na Ladprao bar, which is now the Thai capital’s deadliest in 17 years
The death toll following a huge fire at a bar in Bangkok has now increased to 30.
More than 70 people were injured on Sunday night when the blaze broke out at the Rong Beer Na Ladprao bar in the north of the Thai capital. Of those, 24 are still in critical condition according to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.
This is the city’s deadliest fire in the past 17 years. The bar, which in Thai calls itself a brewery or beer hall, claimed to accommodate as many as 600 customers. It’s unclear how many were present on Sunday night.
An investigation remains ongoing into the cause of the fire and whether the business was adhering safety regulations. Most of the people who were killed were found trapped in windowless toilets where they may have sought to escape the flames, police said.
Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt said on Tuesday 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.
Growing piles of flowers leaning on the railings cordoning off the location of the fire have now been laid by mourners. Handwritten messages in Thai and other languages, including Korean, were left alongside white flowers, expressing condolences to the victims.
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. This included the building being enclosed and having low ceilings.
Foam may have also been used for decorative purposes without flame-retardant treatment. Mr Pimanmas said that, combined with limited air ventilation, smoke would accumulate quickly, creating toxic air that could be the main cause of death for many victims.
He also noted that officials said the bar was licensed as a restaurant with a live music venue rather than an entertainment venue because it was located outside the designated zoning for such businesses. Mr Pimanmas said that would exclude it from the stricter fire safety requirements for entertainment venues.
He said: “There must be some kind of revolution regarding fire safety procedures, and I think law enforcement is also very important. 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.”
