Bangkok (AFP) - A massive fire in a Bangkok bar late Sunday night killed at least 27 people and injured dozens, sending screaming patrons fleeing as flames shot from the entrance, according to officials, witnesses and video verified by AFP.

An AFP journalist saw several body bags on the ground outside the Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao bar and restaurant early Monday morning, while dozens of emergency service workers thronged the scene.

“The fire spread very quickly, reaching up to the ceiling. Smoke was likely the main cause of death,” Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt told reporters outside the venue on the outskirts of the Thai capital.

He said 27 people were killed and 63 were hospitalised with injuries, including 22 in critical condition, adding that authorities had launched an investigation.

A number of the victims were found near a fire exit and authorities believe there may have been obstructions blocking it, he said.

“We do not know how many people were inside but it was likely many,” Chadchart added.

Motorbike taxi driver Surin Jaiharn, 45, said he saw the fire burst into the street from the bar door and 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 told AFP.

He said he used clothing to put out flames on their bodies while another driver carried a female victim away from the danger.

The live music venue has a stage, two bars and a kitchen, with a total capacity of more than 300 people, as well as four fire exits, according to a post on its Facebook page promoting a live show this month.

Laotian tourist Kan Kutirat told AFP he “heard loud screaming from a lot of people inside – chaos happened”.

He shared a video on Facebook, verified by AFP, that showed patrons – several with their shirts ablaze – fleeing into the street as flames surged out the door.

Kan said he was drinking alone at the bar at around 10:00 pm (1500 GMT) on Sunday when he noticed smoke rising near the stage.

“I never experienced anything like this before,” he said. “The images are still stuck in my mind.”

He said he helped carry a woman out of the bar.

On his post, he added: “I could only get one person out. I tried my best. I’m sorry.”

- ‘An explosion’ -

Looking inside the bar, an AFP reporter saw a row of stools and bottles of beer still on tables covered with white dust.

The smell of burned plastic lingered over the area several hours after the fire started, while most of the windows of the bar were blown out.

A small crowd of people gathered behind a cordon of metal barricades and police tape, some of them in their pyjamas.

Thai national police said in a social media post at around 2:00 am Monday that the fire had been “brought under control”.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul had earlier visited the scene.

He said musicians at the venue described “smoke from a circuit breaker near the stage followed by the power going out and an explosion”.

“Most of the victims ran to the back, to toilets with no exit. It could be because of panic because there was fire and smoke,” Anutin told reporters.

He gave the same death toll, 27, while local police also confirmed to AFP the same number.

Suriyachai Rawiwan, head of Bangkok’s disaster prevention department, said authorities had arrived five minutes after the incident was reported, but by that time “the fire had already spread through the whole area, making it quite difficult for us to get in”.

“When we went in to search, we found tables and seating blocking the way everywhere and the heat was intense,” Suriyachai told AFP.

Most of the victims’ bodies were found in a rear restroom, the official said.

Thailand’s lax approach to health and safety regulations – particularly in its bars and nightclubs – has long raised concerns.

Twenty-five people died after a fire ripped through the Mountain B nightclub in Thailand’s eastern Chonburi province in 2022.

A huge fire tore through a New Year’s Eve party at Bangkok’s Santika club in 2009, killing 67 people and injuring more than 200.