At least 28 killed, 25 critically injured after fire engulfs Bangkok bar

 A huge fire tore through a bar in Thailand's capital Bangkok late on Sunday, killing at least 28 people and leaving 25 critically injured.

The blaze started near the stage of the bar in the popular Chatuchak district, then spread rapidly, cutting power and engulfing the room with smoke, eyewitnesses say.

Footage posted online shows panicked customers screaming as they fled – some with their clothes on fire – through the flame-enveloped front door of Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao.

Firefighters, who arrived at the scene just after midnight, quickly extinguished the fire. They found the bodies of most of the victims in a bathroom, where they had apparently sought shelter.

"Most of the people who died were found in the toilets. When the fire broke out, they panicked. There were no lights," national police chief Kitrat Panphet said.

Kaew-udon Poungppany, 24, from Laos, fought back tears as he described trying to reach his younger brother, who did not survive.

"I grabbed a fire extinguisher and sprayed it at the door... but I couldn't go any further. I heard people screaming," he told journalists.

Preliminary investigations by Bangkok's disaster mitigation department suggest the fire could have been caused by an electrical short circuit in an air conditioner, though no official cause has been given.

Authorities have promised a thorough investigation.

This is not the first time such an incident has occured in Thailand. Despite official promises to improve fire and electrical safety standards following previous incidents, they are still often poorly enforced.