Bangkok pub fire kills 27, police probe blocked exits

Police in Bangkok were investigating possible negligence after a fire ripped through the Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao pub and killed 27 people, with officials saying 63 others were injured and 22 were in critical condition. Thai police were examining whether emergency exits had been blocked, whether doors were locked and whether flammable materials used in stage decorations and soundproofing helped turn the venue into a trap.

The blaze broke out shortly before midnight on Sunday, July 12, 2026, at the live-music venue in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district near Lat Phrao. A Reuters-verified video showed thick smoke pouring from the pub before an intense plume of fire burst from a doorway, capturing the speed and violence of the fire as patrons tried to escape. Emergency responders were seen working beside covered bodies at the scene, underscoring the scale of the disaster.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said many victims ran toward the back of the building and into a bathroom, where there was no clear sign of a fire exit. That detail has become central to the inquiry now facing Bangkok city authorities and Thai police: whether the building’s layout, access routes or security practices left customers with nowhere safe to go once the fire spread. Firefighters brought the blaze under control in about 30 minutes, but by then the damage was done.

Bangkok disaster prevention and mitigation officials said their initial assessment was that an electrical short circuit in a ceiling air conditioner may have started the fire. Investigators are also looking at whether doors were locked, exits were obstructed and flammable materials were used in ways that could have accelerated the blaze. Suriyachai Rawiwan, the Bangkok disaster prevention and mitigation director, has been among the officials handling the response as authorities piece together how the fire moved through the venue so quickly.

The fire was the deadliest in Thailand since the Santika Club disaster in Bangkok on January 1, 2009, when 67 people were killed and more than 200 injured. That comparison has renewed scrutiny of safety enforcement at crowded nightlife venues, where blocked passageways, poor oversight and combustible interior materials can turn a single ignition into a mass-casualty event within minutes.