Sawt Falasteen - Thailand probes Bangkok bar fire that killed 28

More than 70 people were injured following the blaze on Sunday evening on the outskirts of the Thai capital, officials said, the country's worst such incident for almost two decades.

Flames ripped through the Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao bar and restaurant and burst out of the entrance, sending people fleeing, several with their clothing burned or ablaze.

"Everybody was running, squeezing into each other," recalled Athipat "Ice" Wijarn, whose bandmates were on stage when the fire broke out around 11:00 pm (1600 GMT) Sunday.

The lights went out and he noticed smoke come from the circuit board behind them, he told Thai talk show Hone-Krasae.

As he crawled towards the exit, he said, "there was an explosion, and I got hit at the back of my head".

The keyboardist, Kwang, and the band's singer, Breeze, both died.

Kaew-udon Poungppany fought back tears as he described his desperate attempts to reach his younger brother, Phonepaseut Poungppany, 21, who died in the fire.

"I grabbed a fire extinguisher and sprayed it at the door... but I couldn't go any further. I heard people screaming," the 24-year-old of Laotian nationality told reporters.

- 'No lights' -

The bodies of the victims were taken away early on Monday morning, before forensic police began picking their way through the devastated venue.

"The fire spread very quickly, reaching up to the ceiling. Smoke was likely the main cause of death," Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt told reporters at the scene.

It was the deadliest fire in Thailand since a blaze tore through Bangkok's Santika club during New Year celebrations in 2009, killing 67 people and injuring more than 200.

AFP reporters saw blackened stools and tables inside the bar, while shoes were scattered on the floor near the back door of the venue.

National police chief Kitrat Panphet said his investigators were hoping to speak to the owner of Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao, who is currently in intensive care.

"Most of the people who died were found in the toilets. When the fire broke out, they panicked. There were no lights," he told reporters.

Police are examining if the exit doors were accessible, he said, noting that one was obstructed by a shelf, meaning only one person at a time could pass through.

They are also looking at the electrical wiring in the 50-year-old building and whether any decorations may have fuelled the fire, he said.

"We presume it is carelessness," Kitrat said.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who earlier visited the scene, said initial inquiries suggested there were "blind spots" without a visible fire escape route.

He urged everyone to wait for the official findings, but added: "There will be no leniency if any laws have been broken."

- 'Loud screaming' -

The injured were taken to hospitals across Bangkok, where relatives gathered in hopes of finding relatives -- or to identify the bodies.

An elderly woman who gave her name as Nid lost her daughter, Namtip Tubsook, and son-in-law, Suwitcha Sirililung, and is left caring for their children, aged four and five.

"Now I don't have any of them, only my two grandchildren who lost their parents," she said, her eyes brimming with tears.

The force of the blast stunned observers, as did the carnage it caused.

"I never experienced anything like this before," Laotian tourist Kan Kutirat, who filmed a fireball explode out of the front entrance, told AFP.

"The images are still stuck in my mind."

Some motorbike taxi drivers stepped in, including Surin Jaiharn, who helped about five people fleeing with burnt and blistering skin.

"I feel depressed. I saw many deaths and I do not know the fate of the people I helped," Surin, 45, told AFP.

- Bringing him home -

Thailand's approach to health and safety regulations -- particularly in its bars and nightclubs -- has long raised concerns.

In 2022, 25 people died after a fire ripped through the Mountain B nightclub in Thailand's eastern Chonburi province.

But for Kanlayawat Banruangthong, 34, "no amount of money" will soften the blow of losing her cousin, Sittipong Chaiyo.

She said the 23-year-old's mother is travelling from the family home in Ubon Ratchathani, near the eastern border with Laos, to confirm his identity through DNA.

Meanwhile, Kaew-udon waited to take his brother's body home.

"My parents are waiting for their son to return so the family can be together again," he said.

I.Saadi--SF-PST