What to know about the Bangkok bar fire that killed 27

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Thai authorities are investigating a Bangkok bar fire that killed at least 27 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:

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 gutted building, where the heaviest damage appeared to be overhead. Large sections of the ceiling were destroyed, blackened and charred, while the floor and tables below, some still with beer bottles on them, were blanketed in ash and debris.

Thailand Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said a musician performing at the bar told him he saw smoke coming from a circuit breaker near the stage before the power went out. An explosion was then heard and thick smoke quickly filled the bar.

Thai officials said investigators would examine the ceiling materials and whether any emergency exits were obstructed, potentially hindering evacuation. A Google image from February shows what appeared to be plastic plants in the ceiling above the stage.

Lee Young Ju, a fire safety professor at South Korea’s Kyungil University, said the fire may have been caused by an electrical fault, possibly involving audio or lighting equipment or faulty wiring, sparking a blaze that quickly spread across the ceiling.

Aside from examining whether flammable materials were used in the interior and how electrical wiring was installed overhead, police are also investigating whether gas canisters were stored in the kitchen and whether they contributed to the blaze, Royal Thai Police chief Kittharath Punpetch said.

Huang Xinyan, a professor at Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University, said footage of the fire site suggests the bar contained combustible foam materials, lacked a sprinkler system and had small exits that may have hampered evacuation. He added that plastic decorations on the ceiling may have been combined with combustible foam soundproofing materials, potentially fueling the fire’s rapid spread.

While the bar may have fallen short of safety standards, Lee said it’s unclear whether sprinklers would have slowed the blaze if it spread across the ceiling, as they are not designed to extinguish fires burning overhead.

The fire is the latest in a string of deadly blazes at entertainment venues around the world, a recurring type of disaster that has killed hundreds of people over the years. In the early hours of New Year's Day, a fire tore through a bar in the Swiss ski resort town of Crans-Montana, killing about 40 people and injuring more than 100. A 2013 fire at the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, southern Brazil, killed more than 200.

Huang said the Bangkok fire may resemble the fire in Switzerland, noting that such venues tend to have large amounts of flammable soundproofing materials and overcrowded conditions which contribute to the high number of casualties.

Lee said the large fatalities in entertainment venue fires often stem from large crowds packed into relatively small spaces, making quick evacuation difficult. Such venues frequently lack sufficient exits, and most patrons are familiar only with the main entrance they used to enter, while loud music and alcohol can leave them less aware and slower to respond when an emergency strikes, he said.

Jiang Liming, another professor at Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University, noted that pubs typically lack large glass windows and the exits may be blocked by panicked people when there’s a fire.

“Once there was a rapidly growing fire, large (numbers) of casualties might occur due to high density of people and fast accumulation of smoke,” Jiang said.

Kong Ha-song, a disaster prevention professor at South Korea’s Woosuk University, said death tolls in bar and nightclub fires are often worsened because the venues can resemble a “maze,” with beer crates, tables and other obstacles blocking hallways and escape routes, while emergency exits are sometimes kept locked to prevent unauthorized entry or theft.

Kittharath, the Thai police chief, said the single-story bar had four exits, but police were examining whether the two rear exits were blocked or unusable. One exit near the restrooms, where most of the victims were found, had a table blocking the way, while another near the kitchen had a damaged exit sign and a sliding door missing its handle.

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Leung reported from Hong Kong. AP writer Jintamas Saksornchai contributed from Bangkok.

A forensic police officer leaves the site of a fire in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, July 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this handout photo released by Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, forensic police officers inspect the site of a fire in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, July 13, 2026. (Bangkok Metropolitan Administration via AP)

One of relatives of fire victims, front, leaves the Institute of Forensic Police hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, July 13, 2026, following a fire at a beer hall. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this handout photo released by Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, forensic police officers inspect the site of a fire in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, July 13, 2026. (Bangkok Metropolitan Administration via AP)

In this handout photo released by Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, the interior of a beer bar is seen after a fire in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, July 13, 2026. (Bangkok Metropolitan Administration via AP)

The Chicago White Sox took shortstop Roch Cholowsky with the first pick of the amateur draft this past weekend, and Tampa Bay selected shortstop Grady Emerson one spot later.

Yes, both those teams are currently in first place.

Pro drafts — even those with lotteries — generally start with some of the weakest teams from the previous season. But because baseball doesn't conduct its draft until the middle of the ensuing season, sometimes the teams picking at the top have already made impressive strides. The White Sox lost 102 games last year and Tampa Bay dropped 85. Now they're in contention — and adding possible help for the future via the draft.

Here are a few teams that actually reached 90 wins the same year they had the top pick:

2008 RAYS (97-65)

This was Tampa Bay's fourth No. 1 pick in a 10-year span, and the Rays haven't had one since. Starting in that 2008 season, which ended with a World Series appearance, Tampa Bay became a lot more successful. The Rays didn't take full advantage of that final No. 1 pick, selecting infielder Tim Beckham when Eric Hosmer and Buster Posey went later in the top five.

2024 GUARDIANS (92-69)

Cleveland won the draft lottery, then proceeded to win the AL Central. The Guardians drafted Travis Bazzana, who made his big league debut earlier this season.

1984 METS (90-72)

The Mets began their mid-1980s rise in '84, finishing 6 1/2 games out of first place in the NL East with Dwight Gooden winning Rookie of the Year honors. New York would peak two years later with a World Series title, but this draft pick — outfielder Shawn Abner — never played for them.

1977 WHITE SOX (90-72)

Chicago's rise in 1977 — from 64 wins to 90 — was short lived. But the White Sox drafted a keeper that year in Hall of Famer Harold Baines. He'd go on to play more than two decades in the major leagues and was part of division champions in Chicago in 1983 and toward the end of his career in 2000.

Cholowsky, of UCLA, became the school's first No. 1 overall draft pick since Gerrit Cole in 2011. But there was another UCLA star, drafted in the first round, who has been worth even more wins above replacement than Cole. Who was it?

The Mets led 9-4 and, according to Baseball Savant, had a 94.2% win probability after Juan Soto's three-run homer in the bottom of the fourth against Kansas City on Tuesday night. The lead didn't even last until New York's next at-bat.

The Royals scored five runs in the fifth, then added seven more in the seventh on their way to a 16-12 victory.

Then on Sunday, the Mets blew a two-run lead in the ninth and lost to Boston 3-2 in 10 innings. Meanwhile, the rival Yankees swept three straight in Washington, coming from behind in the eighth inning or later in each game.

Toronto's Dylan Cease had a no-hit bid broken up in the ninth inning of a 10-0 win over San Francisco on Wednesday. He finished with 11 strikeouts and one hit allowed in eight-plus innings.

Honorable mention: Kansas City's Tyler Tolbert went 5 for 6 with a homer in that big comeback victory over the Mets. He tied a major league record with hits in 12 straight plate appearances.

Chase Utley, drafted with the 15th overall pick in 2000, was worth 64.6 WAR according to Baseball Reference.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Chicago White Sox's Roch Cholowsky, first round of the 2026 MLB draft (No. 1 overall), throws a ceremonial first pitch before a baseball game between the Athletics and the White Sox in Chicago, Sunday, July 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)