Bangkok Mayor: 27 confirmed dead and 22 critically injured i

Bangkok, July 13 (Xinhua) - Bangkok Mayor Chacha Sidi Boon reported to the media on the 13th that a bar fire that occurred in the city late on the night of the 12th has confirmed 27 deaths and 63 injuries, with 22 of them in critical condition.

According to previous reports from Thai media, at around 23:57 local time on the 12th, a fire broke out at a bar near Lapsang Road in the Chatuchak district of Bangkok, resulting in 27 deaths, including 18 women and 9 men.

After listening to reports from rescue personnel at the scene of the fire, Cha Cha said that the fire department quickly arrived at the scene upon receiving the alarm, but by the time they arrived, the fire had rapidly spread inside the bar. Out of the 27 victims, only 6 have been identified. The injured were sent to the hospital for treatment, with 22 of them in critical condition and requiring tracheal intubation treatment. He stated that an important task at present is to quickly establish contact with the families of the casualties.

Cha Cha said that the on-site investigation showed that the ceiling of the bar was completely burned, while the plastic seats were basically undamaged. Based on this preliminary speculation, the truly deadly thing is the rapidly spreading large amount of toxic smoke. Many people may lose their direction and cannot find the fire escape due to the pitch black scene.

Regarding the cause of the fire, some survivors told the media that thick smoke was emitted from the distribution box near the bar stage before the incident. Subsequently, the bar experienced a power outage and explosions were heard, and the fire quickly spread.

According to Thai media reports, investigations have shown that the bar has licenses for catering and live music performances, and has two fire exits. The relevant departments will further investigate whether there were obstacles blocking the escape route during the fire.