Grieving relatives of victims of a massive fire at a bar in Bangkok received their bodies on Tuesday as the death toll rose to 30, even as others held out hope that lost loved ones were alive.
Flames ripped through the Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao bar and restaurant in the Thai capital late on Sunday night during a live music performance, sending people fleeing, some with their clothes ablaze.
Twenty-seven people were pronounced dead in the early hours of Monday, while another succumbed to his injuries later that day.
By Tuesday morning, Bangkok’s Chatuchak district office put the death toll at 30, with 75 injured – 24 in critical condition.
Relatives of the dead gathered at the Police General Hospital on Tuesday to receive the bodies of their loved ones, and AFP saw a man holding a stick of incense over one of the coffins.
Booyaporn Sermsiri was at the hospital searching for her 25-year-old daughter, Jawaee “Cartoon” Sermsiri, who remains missing.
“Since we haven’t found it yet, we can wait. We’re holding out hope,” she said.
She said Cartoon’s friend called her early Monday morning, saying there had been a fire and she couldn’t reach him.
Booyaporn, 51, said she had given a DNA sample and was told by police that the result could be back later on Tuesday.
“I’m praying. I’m praying she’s okay,” she said.
Three of the dead have not yet been identified, officials said.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said shortly after the fire that most of the victims likely died of smoke inhalation.
Forensic police are clearing the wreckage as authorities seek to determine how the fire started and why it was so deadly, looking at a possible electrical fault and also whether emergency exits were blocked.
Some witnesses said they saw smoke inside before midnight and the lights went out, followed by an explosion and strong flames that sent patrons fleeing.
Interior ministry official Unsit Sampuntharat said on Tuesday that the bar’s license was also under review, amid questions about whether it was authorized to host live music.
Relatives also visited the blackened bar on Tuesday morning, laying wreaths and praying for the dead, AFP reporters saw.
Nearby, Union Mall employees practiced using fire extinguishers to put out flames inside a controlled pit, under the direction of firefighters.
