A singer who was performing on stage when a deadly fire broke out at Rong Beer Na Ladprao has described the moments he shouted a warning to customers, allowing many to flee before flames engulfed the venue within minutes.
Kantapat “Book” Lipisuwannapong, 33, lead singer of the Tossakan band, gave additional testimony to police on Friday after investigators recovered CCTV footage from the beer hall in Chatuchak district as part of their investigation into Sunday’s fire.
The blaze has claimed 33 lives — including four members of the Tossakan band — and injured at least 71 people, making it one of the deadliest entertainment venue fires in Bangkok in recent years.
Mr Kantapat said he noticed a flash of sparks in his peripheral vision while performing on Sunday night. Moments later, thick smoke and the smell of burning material reached him.
“At that moment, I decided to shout into the microphone for everyone to run immediately before jumping off the stage myself,” he said.
“Just one or two seconds after the warning, the power went out completely and the fire spread rapidly. In less than five minutes, the whole place was engulfed.”
He said customers rushed for the main entrance and another exit near Union Mall, while he escaped through a rear door because he was familiar with the venue’s layout. Another singer also made it out safely after hearing the commotion.
Mr Kantapat said said he did not see anyone lose consciousness while escaping, although fellow musicians and some customers suffered burns and other injuries before firefighters brought the situation under control.
The singer acknowledged that brief power outages had occasionally occurred at the venue in the past, which he believed may have been related to the heavy electricity demand of stage equipment. However, he said he could not speculate on the cause of the fire.
“With so many people packed inside, even if there had been 10 emergency exits, it would have been difficult to evacuate everyone in time when the fire spread that quickly,” he said.
Survivors describe chaos
As the investigation continues, injured patrons have also begun giving statements to police after being discharged from hospital.
One survivor who asked not to be named said he and his friends initially noticed nothing unusual and did not see the source of the fire near the stage. They only reacted after hearing people shouting that a fire had broken out.
He said they ran towards a rear exit near the toilets, but many people were already rushing towards the same door, creating panic and severe congestion in the narrow passageway.
The survivor recalled that as people struggled to get out, a blast of intense heat and flames suddenly surged back into the building when the rear door was opened, injuring those gathered nearby.
Realising the danger, he dropped low to the ground and crawled through the smoke and heat until he reached safety.
He suffered first-degree burns to his arms, neck and face, as well as bruises and cuts sustained while crawling during the escape. Two friends who were with him suffered similar injuries.
The survivor urged the public to pay attention to emergency exits whenever visiting entertainment venues.
“The first thing people should do when entering a venue is look for exits and fire escape signs,” he said. “Knowing the evacuation routes could save your life if an emergency happens.”
Authorities believe the fire may have been triggered by an electrical short circuit before spreading rapidly through flammable soundproofing materials near the stage. Investigators are still working to determine the exact cause.
