A late-night fire broke out at a bar-restaurant in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district, resulting in at least 27 deaths and dozens of injuries. Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin personally visited the scene and focused on issues regarding the escape door.
According to the Thai Headline News Agency, when Anutin inspected the site, he found multiple victims near a restroom at the first inspection point. Anutin pointed at a nearby escape door and asked, “Can this door be opened?” The staff replied, “It has two locks.” Upon hearing this, Anutin shook his head. The staff then added, “It can be opened.” Anutin pressed further, “It can be opened now, but what about during the incident?”
The staff explained that the door was marked ‘employees only,’ so guests did not know about it. Anutin countered, saying if a fire occurred and everyone ran this way, there would have been no casualties.
The staff further clarified that there was no emergency exit sign because they worried guests would leave without paying using this door.
Anutin was very dissatisfied with this answer, stating that this effectively meant there was no escape door at all. The staff member argued again, saying there were escape doors, just on the sides and at the back, not here.
When speaking with the venue’s resident singer, he told Anutin that before the fire, he saw thick smoke coming from the backstage lighting equipment. The keyboardist turned and shouted for everyone to run, and then everyone rushed outside. On the way, he heard an explosion and was hit by the blast, sending him flying.
Upon noticing multiple burn blisters on the singer’s neck, Anutin urged him to see a doctor immediately and patted him on the shoulder in encouragement.