Two Caskets Set as Beer Bar Fire Claims Daughter and Sister-in-Law
Two residents from Sisaket province—a 35-year-old woman and her 36-year-old sister-in-law—were buried in a joint funeral after dying in a Bangkok beer bar fire that claimed four lives in the Ladprao area.
Grieving parents held a dual funeral for a daughter and sister-in-law killed in a Bangkok beer bar fire. Officials of the Po Teck Tung Foundation transported the two bodies of residents from Kantharalak district, Sisaket province, back to their hometown.
The remains of Niphaporn, 35, and Atchraphon, 36, who died in the Ladprao area beer bar fire, were brought from the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Police Hospital in Bangkok and returned to their native village. Relatives set up joint merit-making ceremonies at Niphaporn's home, placing both caskets side by side since Atchraphon was her sister-in-law. Villagers and family members helped prepare the funeral grounds, and initial religious chanting ceremonies were held.
Chakrapong, 35, the husband of Niphaporn, said the couple had lived together for eight years and had two children—one in second grade and another in preschool. They had worked in Bangkok for nearly ten years, selling steamed rice in the Ladprao area to support their family.
Chakrapong revealed that his wife often went out to eat in the soi where the fire occurred, but he never imagined she would use the beer bar that night. He had stayed in their room. The next morning, he woke to prepare rice for sale as usual, then saw news coverage of the fire. When authorities were removing bodies, he recognized the shirt on one of the victims.
"I saw the shirt she was wearing. My heart told me it was her, but I kept praying it wasn't," Chakrapong said.
When officials announced the fourth victim's name as his wife, all hope collapsed. He could not function; grief stuck in his chest.
Their final conversation occurred around 11 p.m. on the night of the fire, when Chakrapong called asking, "How much longer? Why aren't you coming back?" After that, he could not reach her.
Although understanding the fire was an accident with no one wishing it to happen, Chakrapong said he wants the bar owner or those responsible to acknowledge their liability for the losses. No compensation, he stressed, could replace his wife.
Chanya, 63, and Jantem, 60, the parents of Niphaporn, said their daughter had worked in Bangkok for years selling steamed rice and bananas to support the family. Despite living far away, she called home almost daily, often speaking with her mother and asking how they were doing.
