At least 27 people were killed when fire tore through a bar in Bangkok early Monday morning, Thailand's prime minister confirmed at the scene.
Firefighters were called just after midnight after a passing driver spotted the venue engulfed in flames at around 23:30 local time. The driver told Thailand's Daily News that he leapt from his car and broke windows to help two people escape. Footage posted on social media showed flames blasting from the bar's entrance as people ran out, some screaming, some falling. At least two people appeared to be on fire.
Firefighters brought the blaze under control in roughly half an hour, but by then the damage was done.
According to BBC News, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul confirmed 27 bodies had been recovered. Local reports identified nine men and 18 women among the dead. More than 60 people were taken to hospitals, and a number remain missing.
The prime minister said he spoke with a musician who had been performing when the fire started.
"He said that there was a fire at the cut-out switch, and after that things happened very quickly. There was blasting and everybody tried to flee from the smoke and flames. Many of them were not able to make their way out because they went to the back of the building and tried to hide themselves from the smoke and flames in the toilet, and that's where we found most of the bodies," Anutin said.
The bar, known locally as Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao, is described as a popular restaurant and entertainment venue in the area. After the fire was extinguished, photographs from the scene showed rows of body bags outside the building and a large police cordon. Inside, walls, furniture, and the ceiling were completely blackened, with parts of the ceiling peeling away.
Bangkok Governor Chatchart Sittipunt visited the scene and said the fire spread quickly due to flammable interior decorations.
"There are initial, heartbreaking reports that tables selling candy and other merchandise have been set up and obstructing the fire exits," he told the Daily News. "However, this matter requires a thorough and official investigation by forensic officers."
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
