A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
A popular bar in Bangkok caught fire Sunday night, killing at least 27 people. Several more are in critical condition. Michael Sullivan reports from Thailand.
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UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Screaming).
MICHAEL SULLIVAN, BYLINE: Cellphone video captured shortly after the fire began late Sunday night shows a bright-yellow furnace of flame forcing its way out the front door of the Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao pub.
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UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Screaming).
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).
SULLIVAN: Several onlookers urged panicked customers fleeing the building to shed their burning clothing as they stumbled out. The pub is in Bangkok's popular Chatuchak district. Thailand's prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, told reporters at the scene that the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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PRIME MINISTER ANUTIN CHARNVIRAKUL: (Non-English language spoken).
SULLIVAN: "What we know," he says, "is that one of the musicians saw a fuse box smoking, then the lights went out and there was an explosion and smoke everywhere, and people started running to the back."
Anutin said the fire exits at the back may have been difficult to see in the smoke, which may help explain why so many of the victims ended up in the bathrooms near the back, trying to escape the flames.
Video from the scene shows the gray, charred wreckage of tables and chairs, with bodies of the victims neatly bagged and numbered outside. Bangkok's governor said many of the victims have yet to be identified. He added that authorities will also be looking at whether the fire exits at the pub may have been obstructed.
For NPR News, I'm Michael Sullivan in Chiang Rai.
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