Initial findings suggest the majority of the victims had died from smoke inhalation, said Suriyachai Raviwan, the director of Bangkok’s disaster mitigation department.
Bangkok governor Chatchart Sittipunt say the flammable interior decorations on the bar’s ceiling may have facilitated the blaze’s rapid spread.
There are also reports of people found unconscious near the building’s emergency exit, suggesting that there may have been some obstruction, the governor added.
Authorities say these suggestions can only be confirmed through further investigation by forensic officers.
One motorcyclist, Surin Jaiharn, told AFP that he helped about five people flee the burning bar using clothing to extinguish flames on their bodies.
“I feel depressed. I saw many deaths and I do not know the fate of the people I helped,” he told AFP.
The driver who alerted the fire department told Thai news outlet the Daily News that he broke windows to help two people escape.
As of Monday morning, the bar has been cordoned off, with shattered windows and furniture piled up outside its entrance. Confronting pictures have emerged of many body bags lined up outside the bar.
Inside, the furniture, walls and ceiling are completely blackened, with parts of the ceiling peeled off. When the BBC arrived at the scene on Monday, an acrid smell of burning lingered in the air.
