Lat Phrao fire tragedy claims friends as singer remains unaccounted for

A survivor of the deadly Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao fire has recalled seeing smoke rise from the venue’s roof moments before flames and dense black smoke spread rapidly through the building, as the family of a missing singer continued searching for answers.

The fire broke out near Soi Lat Phrao 1 in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district at about 11.50pm on July 12. Initial reports cited 27 deaths and 63 injuries.

Survivor describes rapid spread of fire

Usa Thatsri, known as Ple, a 40-year-old survivor, said she had visited the venue with four younger friends. The group initially sat near the rear before moving to a table beside the stage.

Soon afterwards, Usa and another friend stepped outside. While there, she noticed smoke rising from the roof and alerted a security guard.

Before the guard could investigate, she heard a loud explosive sound. Sparks then appeared near the roof beside the stage before thick black smoke poured through the premises within seconds.

Usa and her friend tried to go back inside to rescue the three people who remained at the table, but the heat forced them back.

She said she did not hear a fire alarm or any evacuation announcement. Although she frequently visited the venue, she had never noticed emergency-exit signs or doors and was aware only of the two main entrances at the front.

Survivors later used chairs to break the venue’s front windows in an attempt to create another escape route and searched each entrance for their friends.

Two members of Usa’s group, identified as Li and Ice, died. They were married and had two young children. A third friend was seriously injured and was receiving treatment in intensive care at Phramongkutklao Hospital.

Usa said the group had taken its first photograph together shortly before the fire. It became the final photograph of the couple before their deaths.

Family searches for missing lead singer

At the Police General Hospital’s Institute of Forensic Medicine, the family of Thitiwat Kaewkanha, known as Din, continued searching for the 27-year-old lead singer of the band Totsakan.

His mother, Jansuda Tanla, said the family had been unable to contact him since the fire and that no authority had yet confirmed his whereabouts.

Din had travelled to the venue for a scheduled performance on the night of the fire. His father called him at about 10pm after noticing that he was not at home.

Din answered and said only that he had arrived at the venue. It was the family’s final contact with him.

His performance was scheduled to run from about 10pm until midnight, and his family understood that only around 10 minutes remained before the set was due to finish when the fire occurred.

Din was also among the venue’s earliest employees and had worked there since it opened.

No forensic match found

The family checked information at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, but doctors said none of the identified bodies matched Din’s details.

Relatives were therefore preparing to continue the search at two other hospitals.

His mother described him as her only son and a devoted family member who had pursued a career as a singer after leaving Ayutthaya Vocational College before completing his studies.

She said he had entered singing contests and accepted performance work, eventually earning enough to help her repay between 300,000 and 400,000 baht in informal debt.

Din has a tattoo of a gear and the words “Ayutthaya Vocational” in the middle of his back, as well as several other tattoos. His family appealed to anyone with information about him to contact them as soon as possible.