Bangkok Bar Fire Death Toll Hits 30 as Officials Confirm Locked Doors, Blocked Exits and Zoning Loophole

The death toll from Sunday night's fire at Bangkok's Rong Beer Na Ladprao bar has risen to 30 as of Tuesday, July 14, with more than 70 injured and 24 still in critical condition, according to a statement from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. Twenty-seven victims had been identified by Tuesday morning, according to the BBC.

Investigators have assembled a picture of why so many people died. Police General Kittiratt Phanphet said Monday the use of flammable decor and apparent disregard for patron safety pointed toward negligence, according to the BBC.

A Door That Wouldn't Open

Fire safety expert Busakorn Saensuk of the Engineering Institute of Thailand inspected the wreckage and told BBC Thai that the door near the restrooms was locked, while the two doors at the entrance were partially blocked by furniture and other objects. Most victims were found trapped in windowless bathrooms at the back of the bar, where police believe they fled instinctively as flames spread from the stage.

"If the emergency signs were lit, people would have been able to see how the door was locked and may have been able to unlock it," Busakorn said.

A former patron, Phatsara Khamloet, told BBC Thai she remembered the bar as a dark space with a "winding route" to the bathroom and poorly marked exits, even during a visit back in May, months before the fire.

The Zoning Loophole

Bangkok authorities have confirmed the bar was registered as a "restaurant with live music" rather than an "entertainment venue," according to the BBC. That distinction meant it was not legally required to use fire-retardant construction materials.

Amorn Pimanmas, president of the Thailand Structural Engineers Association, told reporters at the site Monday that the venue's location outside a zone designated for entertainment businesses allowed it to skip the tougher fire code, according to NPR. He said the enclosed, low-ceilinged space with foam decorative materials and poor ventilation would have let toxic smoke build up fast.

"There must be some kind of revolution regarding fire safety procedures, and I think law enforcement is also very important," Amorn said, according to NPR. "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."

Thailand has fire codes. The bar reportedly passed a safety inspection as recently as April, according to Channel News Asia. If a venue can pass inspection under one zoning classification while operating like a packed nightclub under another, the rules on paper mean little. Multiple licensed engineers are pointing to this structural loophole by name.

Cause Still Under Investigation

Preliminary findings point to a short circuit in a ceiling air conditioner near the stage, which cut power throughout the bar almost immediately, according to Channel News Asia. Professor Worsak Kanok Nukulchai, a structural engineering specialist, said the flammable materials likely reacted with the initial flames to produce carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide, the "toxic twins" of fire smoke, meaning many victims may have died from smoke inhalation before flames reached them.

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said Tuesday that most victims likely died of smoke inhalation and announced he's ordered a sweeping citywide survey of similar bars to assess risk, plus stepped-up enforcement of existing law, according to the Associated Press. "We've set up a committee to investigate the truth, what should be improved and what rules should be changed," Sittipunt said. "We will do more random checks."

Police told Channel News Asia they have interviewed 34 people connected to the bar and that criminal charges would be considered once the investigation is complete. No charges have been filed as of Tuesday.

What's Unresolved

Nobody has been arrested or charged. The specific ownership structure of Rong Beer Na Ladprao, who signed off on its "restaurant" classification, and whether the April inspection flagged any of the hazards later identified by outside engineers all remain open questions. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration says it's reviewing what materials should be permitted in venue construction and decoration going forward, but no new regulation has been enacted yet.

The bar, which advertised capacity for up to 600 people, is one of a cluster of similar venues in the Chatuchak district near train stations and shopping malls, according to Channel News Asia. Whether Bangkok's promised sweeping survey actually reaches those venues before the next crowded weekend remains uncertain.