At least 27 killed, 25 critically injured after fire engulfs Bangkok bar

A huge fire tore through a bar in Bangkok late on Sunday, killing at least 27 people and leaving 25 critically injured.

The blaze started near the stage of the bar in the popular Chatuchak district, then spread rapidly, cutting power and engulfing the room with smoke, eyewitnesses say.

Footage posted online shows panicked customers screaming as they fled – some with their clothes on fire – through the flame-enveloped front door of Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao.

Firefighters, who arrived at the scene just after midnight, quickly extinguished the fire. They found the bodies of most of the victims in a bathroom, where they had apparently sought shelter.

Satellite map of the Chatuchak district in Bangkok, Thailand, showing the location of Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao marked with a red dot near major roads and rail lines. An inset map of Thailand highlights the Bangkok area with a red marker. A photo inset shows the Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao building with a colourful geometric façade along Lat Phrao Road. The credit says “Photo: Google Maps, November 2025.”

"Most of the people who died were found in the toilets. When the fire broke out, they panicked. There were no lights," national police chief Kitrat Panphet said.

Kaew-udon Poungppany, 24, from Laos, fought back tears as he described trying to reach his younger brother, who did not survive.

"I grabbed a fire extinguisher and sprayed it at the door... but I couldn't go any further. I heard people screaming," he told journalists.

One survivor escaped by seconds after she stepped outside for a cigarette, Reuters news agency reported. "There was a boom – a very fast boom... There was no way to get out at all," 41-year-old Usa Tadsree said.

She described seeing rescuers carry out the body of a friend she was drinking and enjoying the music with, just minutes earlier.

"I lost my mind," she said. "It looked like she was asleep."

Preliminary investigations by Bangkok's disaster mitigation department suggest the fire could have been caused

by an electrical short circuit in an air conditioner, though no official cause has been given.

Authorities have promised a thorough investigation.

This is not the first time such an incident has occured in Thailand.

Despite official promises to improve fire and electrical safety standards following previous incidents, they are still often poorly enforced.