Overview
- A blaze broke out at the Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao pub shortly before midnight on Sunday, July 12, and firefighters brought it under control in about 30 minutes after an explosion and a sudden power outage were reported.
- Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said 27 bodies were recovered and dozens were taken to hospital, with authorities reporting roughly 63–73 injured and about 22–25 in critical condition.
- Investigators are probing an electrical short in ceiling equipment near the stage as a possible trigger, based on witness accounts of smoke from a circuit breaker or air‑conditioning unit before the explosion.
- Police say negligence is their primary line of inquiry, citing evidence that some emergency exits may have been blocked or locked, that many victims sheltered in windowless restrooms, and that flammable interior materials could have intensified toxic smoke.
- The inquiry is ongoing with forensic teams identifying victims at the Police General Hospital and reviewing inspection records; the fire renews scrutiny of Thailand’s enforcement of venue safety rules after deadly nightclub and pub fires in previous years.