Bangkok bar fire death toll rises to 30 as families collect victims' bodies

BANGKOK: The death toll from a major fire at a bar and restaurant in the Thai capital rose to 30 on Tuesday, as relatives gathered to receive the bodies of those killed while other families continued searching for missing loved ones.

The blaze swept through the Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao venue late on Sunday during a live music performance, forcing people to run for safety, with some seen escaping while their clothes were on fire. Twenty-seven people were pronounced dead in the early hours of Monday, and another victim later died from injuries the same day. By Tuesday morning, Bangkok’s Chatuchak district office said 30 people had died and 75 had been injured, including 24 in critical condition.

At Police General Hospital, grieving families waited to claim the remains of relatives. Grey coffins with gold-coloured relief detailing were brought out from the rear of the hospital in front of reporters and television cameras. Some were placed into ambulances for transport to the victims’ home provinces. Inside one vehicle, a man held an incense stick over a coffin, while in another, an elderly woman rested her hand on a coffin and wiped away tears.

Families mourn the dead

Nuttakarn “Mint” Sevoy, 30, told AFP she had come for the body of her childhood friend, Top Sarobol, who is believed to have died from smoke inhalation, like many of those killed in the fire. She said the family considered themselves fortunate because they were able to identify him without difficulty.

Speaking of his grandmother’s grief, she said:

She kept saying that it should have been him to cremate her… (he) should be the one attending her funeral, not her coming to pick up her grandson’s body like this

Jarunee Phosawad, who travelled from Roi Et in eastern Thailand, came to oversee the cremation of her cousin Kochaporn Sotharat and the return of her ashes. Jarunee described Kochaporn as a cheerful person and said the news of her death had left her shaken. She added that Kochaporn was a single mother, and that her daughter had also travelled to Bangkok for a DNA test.

Jarunee said:

She was a joyful person

I felt cold when I heard she was dead.

She also said:

I do not know how she will live after this; she had only her mum.

Some families still await answers

Not all families had confirmation by Tuesday. Booyaporn Sermsiri was at the hospital searching for her missing 25-year-old daughter, Jarawee “Cartoon” Sermsiri. She said her daughter’s friend had called early on Monday to say there had been a fire and that she could not contact her.

Booyaporn said she had provided a DNA sample and police told her that results could be available later on Tuesday. She said:

Since we haven’t found her yet, we can only wait. We are holding onto hope

I am praying. Praying that she is alright

Investigation under way

Forensic police have been examining the charred site as authorities try to determine how the fire began and why it proved so deadly. Investigators are looking into a possible electrical fault and whether emergency exits were blocked.

Several witnesses said they saw smoke inside the venue before midnight and then the lights went out. They said an explosion followed, along with intense flames that sent customers rushing out.

Relatives of those killed and people who survived the fire also returned to the gutted venue on Tuesday, where some offered prayers and placed garlands in memory of the dead.

One survivor, Usa Tadsri, 40, said she escaped alive but lost two friends in the blaze. Namtip Tubsook and her husband Suwitcha Sirililung, who died in the fire, left behind two children aged four and five, now being cared for by their grandmother, Nid. Usa said:

We were only looking to enjoy ourselves, but we ended up trapped in a disaster