Britons hurt in Thai party fire

Many partygoers lit sparklers, which police say may have caused the fire

Two of the four Britons injured in a fire at a Bangkok nightclub on New Year's Eve are in intensive care, Thai hospital staff have said.

Fifty-nine people died and more than 200 were injured at the Santika Club as the fire took hold and panic broke out.

Londoner Alex Wargacki, 29, is in intensive care being treated for burns, alongside another British man.

Steven Hall, of South Wales, told CNN he felt his back burning as the lights went out and he searched for an exit.

Police said the fire may have been caused by firecrackers brought into the nightclub by guests, or by sparks flying from a pyrotechnic new year countdown display.

Steven Hall on how he escaped the fire

They said most of the victims died from suffocation, but some were also killed in a stampede as partygoers tried to leave the club.

Stampede

Mr Wargacki, a British foreign exchange trader, told the Times newspaper he was lucky to be alive.

He described how he was pulled from the burning club by an unknown rescuer after collapsing as he tried to escape.

"I was actually unconscious. I was trying to get out the door, but there was black smoke everywhere, then I went down," he told the paper.

"I thought 'there's no way I'm getting out of this, I'm dead'.

"But somebody pulled me out, I don't know who."

The lights went out, and at that moment, my back started burning and I was breathing in hot air Steven Hall, injured partygoer 'Hazy' safety in Bangkok party zone

A spokesman at Bangkok's private Samitivej Sukhumvit Hospital said Mr Wargacki was on a respirator to help him breathe, but it would be several days before they would know the scale of lung damage.

Mr Hall, an aircraft technician from Cardiff, told CNN some partygoers seemed to think the flames were part of the show, and stopped to watch.

"All of a sudden I saw flames billowing from the top of the stage, then along the ceiling.

"Then everybody converged towards the exit from the balconies, down the stairs area, and from the dance floor. It was a bit like a stampede.

"It did take a few moments to realise what was going on, because it seemed as though it was part of the performance.

"But looking at the performers on stage, looking at the embers and what looked like sparks falling down on to the stage, they looked totally horrified.

He said the heat was coming down from the ceiling and people were "rushing to get out".

"I tried first of all getting some people moving to get them out. I was making my way towards the exit myself.

"There was somebody lying on the floor and I was dragging them out.

"The lights went out, and at that moment, my back started burning and I was breathing in hot air."

It is understood a fourth Briton suffered minor injuries.

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman confirmed four Britons were injured.

The BBC's Jonathan Head, in Bangkok, said witnesses saw flames shooting up from a stage in the club shortly after midnight, setting the ceiling alight.

They described panic among the crowd as the club was plunged into darkness, and the burning ceiling collapsed.

Our correspondent said about 30 bodies had been burned beyond recognition.