“I’ve never experienced anything like it. The images are still imprinted in my mind.” For Laotian tourist Kan Kutirat, the horror unfolded within minutes as flames and thick smoke spread across a packed Bangkok pub. He managed to get one woman to safety and later wrote on Facebook: “I could only get one person out. I tried my best. I’m sorry.”A devastating fire broke out at Rong Bier Na Lat Phrao, a popular live-music venue in the Chatuchak district, shortly before midnight Sunday. The fire spread at frightening speed, killing 27 people and injuring more than 60. Authorities said several victims were trapped at the back of the venue after emergency exits were blocked.Eyewitnesses described frantic attempts to escape as the room filled with smoke. Many people died after becoming trapped near bathrooms trying to escape the suffocating smoke. Emergency crews arrived at the scene, but patrons had little time to escape as the fire spread rapidly.The fire broke out shortly before midnight. Officials said the fire spread quickly throughout the venue, leaving patrons little time to escape. Many victims died after becoming trapped near pub bathrooms trying to escape the suffocating smoke.Initial assessment by Bangkok’s disaster administration suggested that the fire was probably caused by an electrical short circuit in a rooftop air conditioner. However, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said that musicians at the venue reported that “smoke came from a circuit breaker near the stage, followed by a power outage and an explosion”.Based on descriptions from survivors, officials said the fire started near the front stage area and quickly spread throughout the venue. Many people fled to the back, where the kitchen and bathrooms were located.“Most of the victims ran backwards, towards the toilets where there were no exits. This may have been due to panic because there was fire and smoke,” Anutin told reporters.According to Reuters, Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sitipunt said beer crates and tables blocked some fire exits, hampering evacuation efforts. Firefighters later found several victims lying near the pub’s toilets.Firefighter Chakrit Khongkom, one of the first responders to the scene, said smoke, rather than flames, proved to be the deadliest threat.“There was smoke everywhere,” he said. “Most of the survivors were suffocating from the smoke.”Body-camera footage showed firefighters wearing oxygen masks walking through the smoke-filled building as rescuers carried stretchers inside. Many victims were found lying on the floor near the toilets, while there were still bar tables and stools in the fire-damaged main hall.The video showed thick black smoke billowing from the pub, followed by strong flames coming out from the entrance and customers screaming and running into the street around midnight.Surin Jayaharan, a motorbike taxi driver who rushed to help people escape, said he saw flames coming out of the entrance and found the victims severely burned.“I feel depressed. I witnessed many deaths and I don’t know the fate of the people I helped,” Surin told AFP. He said he used the victims’ clothing to extinguish the flames, while another driver carried an injured woman away from the burning building.Inside the venue, survivors recalled receiving some false signals before the fire spread. “My friend, who was singing on stage, said that first he smelled something burning, then after a while he saw that the ceiling was on fire,” Sukanya Wongwongwai, who was waiting outside the pub searching for her missing friend, told Reuters.“Some people were injured due to (debris) falling from the roof because it seems the roof was made of foam material to absorb sound,” he said.He said he was drinking alone when he saw smoke rising near the stage. “I’ve never experienced anything like this before,” he said. “The images are still stuck in my mind,” Kan Kutirat said.Video shows patrons running down the street, many running away while their clothes are on fire.According to its Facebook page, the live music venue had a stage, two bars and a kitchen, with a capacity of more than 300 people, and four fire exits. Investigators are examining whether all exits were accessible at the time of the fire and whether blocked escape routes contributed to the high death rate.