Bangkok bar fire: Witnesses describe how deadly inferno swept through ‘maze-like’ bar

Thai indie band Thotsakan was performing at a packed bar in Bangkok on Sunday when band manager Ice Athipat Wijarn, seated off stage, saw smoke emerging from behind the keyboardist.

The keyboardist, Kwang, shouted for people to flee – and within seconds a fierce blaze tore through Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao, in the city’s vibrant Chatuchak district.

Ice recalls fumbling with the door in the smoke-engulfed room as he tried to escape.

“Everybody was running, squeezing into each other,” he told Thai talk show Hone-Krasae. He crawled towards the exit – then something exploded, throwing him out of the bar.

“The sight of my girlfriend’s body being carried out, the sight of my friend who was burned in the fire and everything that happened are still etched in my mind,” he said in comments reported by Agence France-Presse.

The blaze killed at least 28 people and left dozens more injured, authorities confirmed on Monday.

Kwang, along with Thotsakan’s female singer Breeze and drummer Bew, died after succumbing to their injuries, according to a Facebook post from another band member, Patchara Songphatkaew.

A fifth member, Din, was missing but later located on Monday evening, according to a social media post. His condition is unclear.

Thotsakan’s lead singer Tik Chaichana managed to escape unscathed only because he went to the bathroom moments before the fire broke out, Thai media reported. Videos online showed him sobbing as he ran out of the burning bar.

“I’m safe, thank you everyone for your concern. But my phone and all my belongings burned… My mind is truly not okay right now,” Tik wrote in a Facebook post.