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Thai authorities are investigating a Bangkok bar fire that killed at least 30 people and injured dozens more, the latest in a long history of catastrophic fires at bars, clubs, and other nightlife venues worldwide. Experts say the high death toll may reflect factors common to past entertainment venue fires, including inadequate safety measures. The blaze, which broke out shortly before midnight Sunday, apparently spread rapidly across a ceiling lined with flammable decorative materials before reaching the main entrance. Local media suggest crowded conditions, obstructed escape routes, and panic may have hampered evacuation. Here's what to know about the fire: Investigators focus on how fire spread ----------------------------------------- Videos shared online by witnesses show a blaze engulfing the Na Ladprao music bar as thick black smoke pours from the front entrance and people scramble to flee. Photos and videos from the scene Monday showed Thai investigators examining the gutt
The death toll from a huge fire in a Bangkok music bar has increased to 30, officials said Tuesday. More than 70 people remain hospitalised, with 24 of them in critical condition, according to Bangkok city officials. The blaze at the Rong Beer Na Ladprao bar, the city's deadliest in 17 years, broke out late Sunday in a northern part of the Thai capital. Firefighters needed half an hour to bring it under control. The bar, which in Thai calls itself a brewery or beer hall, claimed to accommodate as many as 600 customers. It was not clear how many were present Sunday night. An investigation into the cause of the fire and whether the bar was following safety regulations is ongoing. Most of the people who were killed were found trapped in windowless bathrooms where they may have sought to escape the flames, police said. Former patrons of the bar and other mourners visited the site Tuesday, adding to the growing pile of flowers leaning on the guardrails cordoning off the location of the
A wildfire roared through a remote expat community in southern Spain overnight, killing at least 12 people as victims tried to flee the flames in cars and on foot, authorities said Friday. Eight people were injured, and 23 missing, Andalusia's regional leader Juan Manuel Moreno said. The blaze, one of Spain's deadliest wildfires, broke out late Thursday in a semi-arid area near the Sierra de Los Filabres mountains in Almeria province, as the country has been dealing with soaring temperatures. Most of the victims died after ignoring shelter-in-place instructions, said Antonio Sanz, head of Andalusia's emergency services. Some tried to escape via a dry riverbed that "turned into a death trap," he said. Four victims were believed to be British nationals because the steering wheel of their burned-out car was on the right side, as with British vehicles, regional authorities said. Other unspecified nationals also were believed to be among the dead, and the death toll was expected to rise,
Several people have been killed and many hurt in a fire in an apartment block in the Belgian city of Antwerp, police said Wednesday. The blaze broke out on the eighth floor of the building, where more than 200 people live, in the city's Linkeroever neighbourhood and lots of smoke was billowing out, Antwerp police said in a statement. An evacuation of the 10-story building was underway. Local residents were warned to keep their windows and doors closed and, if needed, to turn off any ventilators due to the amount of smoke in the air.
The death toll in the Govindpuri fire tragedy rose to four after a 50-year-old speech-impaired woman who had suffered severe burn injuries in the blaze succumbed during treatment, police said on Tuesday. Guddi Devi was the mother of Pankaj Pandey (28), who died in the fire along with his sister Sonia (20) and their maternal grandmother Sushila Devi (70). Devi passed away on Monday while undergoing treatment at Safdarjung Hospital. The fire broke out around 2 am on June 12 in a multi-storey residential building in Tughlakabad Extension in southeast Delhi, triggering a massive rescue operation and leaving several residents trapped inside the smoke-filled structure. With Devi's death, four members of the same family have now lost their lives in the incident. Police had earlier said that four people, including a 17-year-old girl, were apprehended for allegedly setting a scooter parked inside the building on fire to "teach a lesson" to a resident over a monetary dispute of around Rs ...
A fire broke out in a restaurant in southeast Delhi's Kalkaji area early Sunday, an official said. No casualties have been reported. According to the Delhi Fire Services (DFS), a call regarding the fire at the 'Punjabi Tadka' restaurant was received at 4.45 am. "The fire was brought under control at around 5.40 am after sustained efforts by the firefighting teams. No injuries or casualties were reported in the incident," a DFS official said. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. Further investigation into the matter is underway.
West Bengal minister Kaushik Chowdhury on Thursday said that around 4,000 EVMs were gutted in a government building fire here, as the police launched an investigation following the registration of an FIR in connection with the incident. A massive fire broke out on Wednesday at the nine-storey building in south Kolkata's Alipore area. The building also housed the South 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad office, apart from other departments. "Around 4,000 EVMs were destroyed in the fire. Those EVMs were used in 10 constituencies during this year's assembly elections in the state," the minister of state for fire and emergency services said. After visiting the site, Chowdhury said, "It does not appear to be a normal fire. We are examining whether there was any sabotage. It is still not clear how the fire reached the ninth and tenth floors." He said the blaze was first noticed on the second and third floors of the building. "How did it reach the seventh and eighth floors without affecting the
Three people were killed while two others were critically injured after a fire broke out in a five-storey residential building in southeast Delhi's Govindpuri area in the early hours of Friday, police said. According to police, a PCR call regarding the blaze was received at Govindpuri police station at around 2.24 am. The fire erupted in a residential building in Tughlakabad Extension. "A coordinated evacuation effort was carried out as heavy smoke engulfed the building, trapping several residents inside. Eight occupants were rescued from the structure and shifted to Safdarjung Hospital and AIIMS Trauma Centre for treatment," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said. Three people were declared dead, including a 22-year-old man and two women, police said. Two injured persons remain in a critical condition and are undergoing treatment, he added. Preliminary inquiry suggests that the fire may have originated due to an electrical short circuit on the ground floor
The registration of the private hospital in Bihar's Muzaffarpur, where six people died of asphyxiation after a fire broke out in the ICU ward, has been cancelled, an official said on Saturday. Five deaths occurred on Thursday when smoke filled the ICU after a short circuit, and the staff allegedly ran away, leaving the patients in the lurch. The sixth individual died during treatment at another healthcare facility on Friday. "In view of the hospital management's disregard for safety standards and negligence, the Civil Surgeon of Muzaffarpur has suspended the registration of Prasad Hospital with immediate effect," Muzaffarpur District Public Relations Officer Pramod Kumar said on Saturday. The Civil Surgeon directed the hospital management to submit a factual explanation, along with the necessary records and evidence, within seven days, in this regard, he added. Three hospital staff members were arrested in connection with the fire incident, Muzaffarpur SP Mohibullah Ansari told ..
A fire broke out in a battery room on the third floor of an office building in Greater Kailash-I, South Delhi, early Friday morning, according to officials. The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) received a call about the blaze at approximately 2.47 am from the Tata Communications office located opposite Savitri Cinema, the Delhi Fire Service said in an official statement. In response, 11 fire tenders were deployed to extinguish the flames. According to the DFS, the fire was confined to the battery room on the third floor of the multi-storey building, affecting an area of about 200 square feet. Two firefighters sustained burn injuries to their hands while battling the fire and were taken to Safdarjung Hospital for treatment, officials said. The fire was brought under control around 7 am, and cooling operations continued afterwards to prevent any rekindling. The building consists of a ground floor and five upper floors. No civilian injuries or casualties were reported during the incident.
Ten people were killed and several injured on Wednesday when a massive fire broke out in a restaurant in south Delhi's Malviya Nagar, officials said. Three people were rescued from the basement of the Lemon Green Restaurant, an official of the Delhi Fire Service said. Multiple fire tenders were rushed to control the blaze around 8.50 am. They were shifted to a hospital by CATS ambulances for medical treatment. Their condition was not immediately known. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. Further details are awaited.
A fire broke out on the second floor of the Ministry of Education office located in the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) campus in central Delhi's ITO area on Monday, an official said. No casualties have been reported. The Delhi Fire Service received a call about the blaze around 9.37 am and rushed eight firefighting vehicles to the spot. Firefighting operations are underway. The cause of the fire has not yet been ascertained, officials said.
At least nine people were killed after a fire broke out in a residential building in east Delhi's Vivek Vihar early Sunday, officials said. The incident was reported around 3.48 am at a four-storey building in Vivek Vihar Phase-I, following which police, fire and disaster management teams rushed to the spot. According to the police, the blaze engulfed flats on the second, third and fourth floors of the building, prompting a large-scale rescue operation. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. "Around 10 to 15 people were rescued from the premises during the firefighting operation. Two of them, who sustained minor injuries, were shifted to the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital," a senior police officer said. A total of 12 fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames, while teams from the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), traffic police and local police assisted in the rescue and evacuation efforts. Police said the fire was brought under control after severa