Horror nightclub fire kills and injures dozens

A large fire at a nightclub in southern Thailand has left at least 13 people dead and dozens more wounded, according to local police, with harrowing footage of the blaze making the rounds online.

The conflagration started around 1am Friday morning at a club in Thailand’s Chonburi province, located about 80 miles south of the capital, Bangkok, police colonel Wuttipong Somjai told Reuters, adding that at least 35 had been injured. The official offered few other details, but noted all of the victims identified so far are Thai nationals.

Disturbing footage captured during the fire has circulated on social media, showing club patrons scrambling to escape the massive blaze, some engulfed in flames. 

Other images also revealed the damage to the one-story nightclub, with its charred interior all but destroyed.

A similar incident at a club near the Thai capital left 66 people dead and hundreds injured in 2009. The cause of that fire was never publicly identified by the local authorities, and conflicting reports gave rise to a number of competing theories for what set off the blaze, ranging from faulty wiring at the nightclub to a fireworks accident.