The death toll in the Rong Beer Na Ladprao beer hall fire in Chatuchak district, Bangkok, has risen to 34, with another of the hospitalised victims succumbing to injuries.
The Chatuchak district office reported the latest death on Sunday.
The announcement said all the burnt bodies had now been identified. Seven victims admitted to hospital had died from their injuries. The other 27 died at the scene of the blaze.
As of Sunday afternoon, there were 70 injured victims - 13 seriously injured (red level), nine with medium levels of injury (yellow) and 48 slightly injured (green). All green-level victims had already been discharged from hospitals.
The latest to die was reportedly a 20-year-old woman who suffered burns all over her body and had been admitted to Phramongkutklao Hospital after the fire.
The fire erupted at Rong Beer Na Ladprao a few minutes before midnight on Sunday last week, July 12. At the time there were about 300 customers in the single-storey concrete building.
Videos showed powerful jets of flame coming from the entrance to the pub. Firefighters took half an hour to bring it under control. Most victims were said to have died from smoke inhalation after being trapped in the building, where emergency exits were reportedly poorly marked and partially blocked.
On Friday Bangkok police chief Pol Lt Gen Sayam Boonsom said autopsies found traces of carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide in victims’ blood. This mixture of gases would abruptly block absorption of oxygen and could kill people in just four minutes.
Forensic analysis would pinpoint the source of the deadly gases, initially thought to be from burning styrofoam. Police who rescued victims from the burning beer hall also inhaled the gases, tests showed, Pol Lt Gen Sayam said.
