A fire at a popular pub in Bangkok on Sunday killed 27 people and injured 63. Of those hospitalised, at least 22 are in critical condition.
"We have recovered 27 bodies, others are being sent to hospital," Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said after visiting the site of the fire that broke out at 11:57pm on Sunday.
According to survivors' accounts, the Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao bar in Bangkok's Chatuchak district rapidly filled with smoke after the fire broke out, forcing many to run to the back of the venue near the bathrooms. However, there were no fire escapes.
"By the time the rescue workers arrived at the scene of the accident, the fire had already burned through the area," Suriyachai Rawiwan, director of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, said.
Of those injured and hospitalised, 22 are in critical condition, Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt told reporters.
By the time the rescue workers arrived at the scene of the accident, the fire that witnesses said had ignited at the front of the venue's stage had already burned through the area, according to Suriyachai.
With input from Reuters
