Death toll from a Bangkok music bar fire rises to 30, dozens remain in
hospital
[July 14, 2026]
BANGKOK (AP) — The death toll from a huge fire in a
Bangkok music bar has increased to 30, officials said Tuesday.
More than 70 people were injured, with 24 of them still in critical
condition, according to a statement by the Bangkok Metropolitan
Administration.
The blaze at the Rong Beer Na Ladprao bar, the city’s deadliest in 17
years, broke out late Sunday in a northern part of the Thai capital.
Firefighters needed half an hour to bring it under control.
The bar, which in Thai calls itself a brewery or beer hall, claimed to
accommodate as many as 600 customers. It was not clear how many were
present Sunday night.
An investigation into the cause of the fire and whether the bar was
following safety regulations is ongoing. Most of the people who were
killed were found trapped in windowless bathrooms where they may have
sought to escape the flames, police said.
Bangkok Gov. Chadchart Sittipunt said Tuesday he has ordered the city’s
administration to conduct a sweeping survey of such establishments to
assess risks. The city will also step up enforcement of existing laws to
improve safety standards, he said.
Former patrons of the bar and other mourners visited the site Tuesday,
adding to the growing pile of flowers leaning on the guardrails
cordoning off the location of the blaze.
Handwritten messages in Thai and other languages, including Korean, were
left alongside white flowers, expressing condolences to the victims.
Debris from the bar — like melted musical instruments and blackened
chairs — lay scattered along the sidewalk, moved there Monday by Thai
officials investigating the cause of the fire.
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In this image made from video provided by Instagram handle @jackfanchan,
people move around a fire at a bar in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday,
July 13, 2026. (@jackfanchan via AP)
University student Thanakon Phoklang said he was passing by and
wanted to pay his respects, calling the loss regrettable.
On Monday, the president of the Thailand Structural Engineers
Association, Amorn Pimanmas, told reporters outside the bar that,
while he had not inspected the venue, he observed some risk factors
that could worsen fire hazards.
He said the building is enclosed, has low ceilings and may have used
foam as decorative materials, without adequate flame-retardant
treatment. Combined with limited air ventilation, smoke would
accumulate quickly, he said, creating toxic air that could be the
main cause of death for many victims.
He also noted that officials said the bar was licensed as a
restaurant with a live music venue rather than an entertainment
venue because it was located outside the designated zoning for such
businesses. Amorn said that would exclude it from the stricter fire
safety requirements for entertainment venues.
“There must be some kind of revolution regarding fire safety
procedures, and I think law enforcement is also very important," he
said. "It’s not that we don’t have the law, but it’s the problem of
how the law could be strictly enforced from now on. I think the
government should answer this question.”
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