Nightclub fire kills 59 in Bangkok

A blaze at a top Bangkok nightclub killed 59 people and injured more than 100 others as people celebrating the New Year stampeded out of the burning building, police said yesterday.

The cause of the fire was under investigation with witnesses saying it was caused by fireworks and media reporting it was due to an electrical fault. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva visited the injured at one hospital and at the charred building, saying firecrackers should not have been brought inside the club.

Among the dead was a Singaporean man, identified as Teo Sze Siong. Forensic experts were unable to identify at least 30 bodies as they had no identification documents with them, doctors said, adding it would take them at least a week to do so.