Thailand: Bangkok bar fire leaves dozens dead

Thailand: Bangkok bar fire leaves dozens dead. A major fire inside a bar in Thailand's capital Bangkok late on Sunday night left at least 27 people dead, officials said. Rescuers said the fire, which was first reported around midnight, broke out in a packed beer house in the Ladprao area of Chatuchak district. The pub, the Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao, is popular with local residents and is located in the same area of the city as the busy Chatuchak market. "Twenty-seven bodies were moved out, lifeless bodies. Some were sent to hospitals, we are checking their conditions," Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said in televised remarks from the scene of the blaze. Sixty-three others were injured. City governor Chadchart Sittipunt informed reporters that 22 of them are currently in critical condition. Another city official said the blaze had already burned through the pub by the time rescuers had arrived. Witnesses reported that the fire started near the stage area, the official added. Anutin told reporters that survivors had told how the pub rapidly filled with smoke, forcing many to run to the back of the venue. But there were no fire escapes and many of the victims were found in the restrooms, he added. Firefighters brought the fire under control after half an hour. Thailand has seen similar tragedies in bars. The largest was a New Year's Eve celebration at the Santika nightclub in Bangkok on January 1, 2009. The blaze, apparently sparked by an indoor fireworks display, killed 66 people and injured more than 200.