BANGKOK: A television news live streaming left Suwanna Saeteaw, 38, frozen in place. Among rows of belongings recovered from victims of the deadly Bangkok blaze sat a mobile phone she instantly recognised as belonging to her 25-year-old sister, Jarawee Sermsiri.
The sight shattered her hopes that Jarawee had escaped the inferno that tore through the Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao bar and restaurant close to midnight on July 12.
When Suwanna dialled the number, a rescue worker answered from the other end of the line.
“I’m extremely worried about her and devastated by what has happened,” Suwanna told The Straits Times on the evening of July 13, holding back tears.
She had spent hours moving between hospitals and forensic centres, searching lists of survivors while fearing her sister might instead be among the unidentified dead.
Across the capital, dozens of families spent the day desperately searching for loved ones after a huge fire at the bar left 28 dead and more than 70 injured to date.
It is the deadliest fire in Thailand in nearly two decades, since a blaze tore through Bangkok’s Santika club during New Year celebrations in 2009, killing 67 people and injuring more than 200.
Suwanna said the authorities had taken DNA samples to help identify victims, but she was told the results could take about three days. “But for us, waiting three days feels far too long, so we’re trying every possible way to find her in the meantime,” she added.
“I’m heartbroken right now, but I’m still hoping that my sister’s alive and receiving treatment at one of the hospitals.”
Inside the investigation
Outside the charred venue, abandoned shoes and bags still lay where patrons had fled in panic as flames and thick black smoke engulfed the building.
Investigators combed through the wreckage on July 13, seeking to establish what caused the fire and why it was so deadly.
Authorities are examining whether emergency exits were obstructed, whether combustible ceiling materials fuelled the blaze and why so many victims were unable to escape.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said investigators would examine ceiling materials and whether any emergency exits may have been obstructed, potentially making it more difficult for people to evacuate.
“The fire spread very quickly, reaching up to the ceiling. Smoke was likely the main cause of death,” he told reporters at the scene.
The bar, a licensed restaurant operating in a single-storey concrete building, had passed an inspection in April, Chadchart said, according to a local media report. He added that waiters estimated about 300 customers were inside when the fire broke out, although the venue typically attracts 600 to 700 patrons a night.
National police chief Kitrat Panphet said his investigators were hoping to speak to the owner of Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao, who is currently in intensive care in hospital.
“Most of the people who died were found in the toilets. When the fire broke out, they panicked. There were no lights,” he told reporters.
Police are examining if the exit doors were accessible, he said, noting that one was obstructed by a shelf, meaning only one person at a time could pass through.
They are also looking at the electrical wiring in the 50-year-old building and whether any decorations may have fuelled the fire, Kitrat added.
Calls for tougher enforcement
The tragedy has renewed scrutiny of Thailand’s fire safety standards and enforcement, particularly at bars and nightclubs, following a series of deadly entertainment venue fires over the years.
Amorn Pimanmas, president of the Thailand Structural Engineers Association, who inspected the charred venue on July 13, said the bar’s low ceiling and combustible polyurethane foam decorations may have allowed toxic smoke to build up rapidly, trapping patrons before they could escape.
“It’s not like we don’t have the law. It’s the problem of how the law can be strictly enforced,” he told ST.
Restaurant waiter Chaiyo Piwisol, 30, who had visited the bar three times previously, said he always found it cramped and crowded, with narrow doors that made him uneasy.
“The place had a lot of decorations, lights and other things hanging from the ceiling. I think there should have been stronger safety measures,” he said.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who visited the scene earlier, said initial inquiries suggested there were “blind spots” without a visible fire escape route. He urged the public to await the official findings, but warned: “There will be no leniency if any laws have been broken.”
Survivor Panathaporn Thongyord, 19, escaped the fire but lost a close friend she had known for 14 years.
“My friend told me, ‘Just get out. Don’t come back to help me’,” she recalled.
“Everything happened so fast... We grew up together, slept over at each other’s houses, ate together. I just want justice for my friend. I want to know why that back door couldn’t be opened.” - The Straits Times/ANN
