Thailand: At least 27 killed in Bangkok bar fire

Confronting pictures taken after the fire had been brought under control show many body bags lined up outside the bar, and a large cordon around the area.

Inside, the furniture, walls and ceiling are completely blackened, and parts of the ceiling is peeling off.

Bangkok governor Chatchart Sittipunt visited the scene and claimed the fire had spread quickly through the flammable interior decorations on the bar’s ceiling. Toxic smoke from the burning decorations might have also caused victims to lose consciousness, he added.

There were also reports of numerous people found unconscious near the building’s emergency exit, said Chatchart, who added that there might have been tables or other objects obstructing the area.

“However, this matter requires a thorough and official investigation by forensic officers,” he added.

This is not the first time such an incident has occurred.

Four years ago another fire in a bar in a town south of Bangkok killed 22 people; in 2009, 66 people died in a nightclub fire in the capital.