Fire at a music bar in Bangkok kills at least 27 people
[July 13, 2026]
By ANTON L. DELGADO and JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI
BANGKOK (AP) — A huge fire tore through a music bar in Bangkok
overnight, killing at least 27 people and leaving 25 hospitalized in
critical condition in the Thai capital's most deadly blaze in 17 years.
Photos from the Rong Beer Na Ladprao bar in a northern part of the Thai
capital showed people fleeing as flames shot out the single-story
building and thick black smoke billowed into the sky. Shoes lost and
scattered as their owners sought to flee could be seen in pictures from
the aftermath of the tragedy.
Bangkok city officials said the fire broke out shortly before midnight
Sunday, and it was about half an hour until firefighters brought it
under control.
By daylight Monday morning, the site had been cordoned off as dozens of
Thai forensic officers combed through the burned remains for clues about
what caused the fire.
The building’s street-facing windows had been blown out and debris
littered the sidewalk, including charred television sets, speakers and
an electric guitar. From outside, the scale of the devastation was
visible through the shattered windows, where burned-out tables, some
still holding empty beer bottles, stood inside.
Thai national police chief Kittharath Punpetch said most of the dead
were found trapped in windowless bathrooms near one of the rear exits of
the bar, where they may have sheltered to escape the flames in the hall.
He said the exit had not been used, and people may have been obstructed
from reaching it by a table set up in the hall to sell candy, or because
it was too dark to find it.
Access to another exit near the kitchen might also have been narrowed by
shelving units and lockers, said Kittharath, who visited the scene
Monday morning. There were signs that at least some of the exit doors
might have been locked shut, he added.
Investigators are focusing on the ceiling above the performance stage,
where they found materials that may have been used as decorative
elements, he said. Police will examine whether flammable materials were
used in the interior and how electrical wiring was installed across the
ceiling.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters that a musician who
was performing at the bar told him that he saw smoke coming out of a
circuit breaker near the stage before the power went out, then an
explosion was heard and thick smoke quickly filled the place.
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In this handout photo released by Bangkok Metropolitan
Administration, bottles are seen on a table at the site of a fire in
Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, July 13, 2026. (Bangkok Metropolitan
Administration via AP)
According to Bangkok’s Erawan emergency services center, the number
of injured people was 73, with 25 in critical condition. Bangkok
Gov. Chadchart Sittipunt said most of the deaths were caused by
smoke inhalation and that the authorities are working on identifying
victims as many did not carry ID.
Some Buddhist monks visited the site Monday morning to pray for the
victims, while nurses handed out face masks to people nearby to help
protect them from smoke and lingering fumes from the burned-out
building.
A registration spot was set up to gather information from relatives
coming at the scene looking for their loved ones.
Singer Sukanya Wongwongwai said she was performing nearby when she
heard news of the fire and rushed to the scene because several of
her bandmates were performing at the bar. She said one of them died,
three were hospitalized and one hasn't been located.
“From what I heard from people who were inside, when the fire
started everything went dark. The power was out and there was smoke
everywhere, so they couldn’t locate other people,” she said.
In 2022, 14 people were killed by a fire at a music bar in the
eastern part of the country. And more than a decade before that, 66
people were killed and more than 200 injured in a fire during a Jan.
1, 2009, New Year’s Eve celebration at the Santika nightclub in
Thailand's capital. That blaze was apparently sparked by an indoor
fireworks display.
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