A fire broke out late at night on the 12th at a bar-restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand, resulting in 27 deaths. Even after the fire was extinguished, many anxious family and friends were still gathered outside, with some holding photos to confirm the status of their loved ones with rescue workers. For others, learning on-site of their relative's death brought overwhelming grief and the atmosphere was somber.
According to the Central News Agency, as dawn broke, many worried citizens were still standing next to the restaurant. Among them was a woman whose sister and brother-in-law both sadly lost their lives in the fire. She stood by the roadside with her boyfriend, covering her face with a towel and weeping.
The woman's boyfriend, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Central News Agency that his girlfriend's sister often visited this beer restaurant to meet with friends and never imagined such a tragedy would happen. He said: “I don't know if there was any special event today, but it's very likely it was just a normal gathering. It's really hard to believe, they're just gone like that.”
The man revealed that the sister and brother-in-law had two children. “That's the most heartbreaking part.”
The bar-restaurant is located in Soi 1, Lat Phrao Road, Chatuchak District, Bangkok. The fire occurred around midnight on the 13th.
Another person who rushed to the scene after the incident was a resident singer, Suganya. She was performing nearby at the time, and since several band members were performing at the bar-restaurant where the fire started, she hurried to the scene upon hearing the news.
She indicated that one band member unfortunately died, three others were hospitalized with injuries, and one was temporarily missing. She added, “After daybreak, I will go to the hospital to visit friends.”
Suganya told the Central News Agency that, according to friends who were inside the beer restaurant at the time, the fire spread rapidly, taking about a minute from noticing something wrong to being fully engulfed. “After the fire started, the scene turned pitch-black, not only was there a blackout, but thick smoke quickly filled the place, making it impossible for people to see each other's locations or find other people.”
She relayed that there were even sounds of explosions at the scene and that many people simply didn't have time to react.