59 are confirmed dead and over a hundred injured after the Santika Club in Bangkok's Ekkamai district was engulfed in flames as revelers at the nightclub rang in the New Year.

The Santika attracts a mixed crowd of affluent Thais and westerners and the large nightclub was packed for the New Years Eve celebration. There were several hundred people in the club when the fire broke out shortly after the countdown into 2009.

The fire may have been caused by fireworks set off by party-goers and quickly spread throughout the club. Bangkok fire departments were able to get the blaze under control, but not before it claimed the lives of at least 59 people who were attending the New Years Eve celebration. Officials are still investigating the cause of the fire.

Bangkok police, fire and rescue workers have spent the first hours of 2009 carrying out the bodies of those that were unable to escape as hundreds of patrons rushed for the exits and smashed windows to escape.

This tragedy strikes just as Bangkok starts to recover from months of unrest and residents of the city look to the new year with hope for a brighter future.

The Santika Club was located at 235/11 Sukhumvit 63, Ekkamai, Bangkok and this New Year's Eve party was also the club's farewell as it was closing it's doors for good on January 1st 2009.

Bangkok City Guide

Frommer's Thailand (Frommer's Complete)