BANGKOK - GRIEVING families prayed for the spirits of their loved ones Friday while police probed for the cause of a fire that ravaged a Bangkok nightclub, killing about 60 New Year's Eve partygoers.

Interior minister Chavarat Charnvirakul said that the blaze could further damage the country's image, recently battered by months of anti-government protests that climaxed in the weeklong shutdown of the capital's two airports.

Police Major General Jongrak Jutanont said investigators were focusing on whether the fire was sparked by a countdown fireworks display organised by the club owners or by firecrackers brought in by guests.

Mr Chavarat said that poor enforcement of laws - including those related to safety - was a major problem in Thailand.

'It's about the lax law enforcement which we need to strengthen,' he told reporters while visiting victims at Chulalongkorn Hospital. 'But an accident like this can happen everywhere and in every country. But I really don't want this to happen because it came from carelessness.'

The fire broke out shortly after midnight and raced through the jammed two-story club, trapping many as they tried to flee through one main door.

No charges related to the fire have yet been filed, but the owner, Thai-Chinese businessman Wisuth Setsawat, was initially charged with allowing underage customers into the Santika Club, Jongrak said. A 17-year-old high school student was found among the dead, he said.

Families of victims gathered at the gutted, charred club in a Bangkok entertainment district to take part in Buddhist prayers, beseeching the spirits of the dead to make their way back home.

The Phranakorn Centre, an official agency that deals with accidents in Bangkok, said Thursday that at least 61 people died while more than 200 were injured.

The Public Health Ministry revised earlier estimates of foreigners injured, saying on Friday the number stood at 41. It said a complete list had not yet been compiled.

The state-owned Radio Thailand gave the death toll on Friday as 58 while some Thai media said 59 had perished.

A Singaporean was among the dead, while injured foreigners were from Australia, Belgium, Britain, France, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and the United States, according to officials and reporters.

Maj Gen Jongrak said that 21 bodies, burned beyond recognition, have yet to be identified.

He said that an investigation into the club's history found that its application for operation five years ago was turned down by the metropolitan police because the building 'wasn't ready'.

But the club opened anyway on the basis of a court appeal.

'Even now, the court still hasn't issued a ruling,' he said.

The party at the wildly popular, classy Santika was billed as both a New Year's blowout and a last celebration at the club before it moved to a new location. The promotion poster read, 'Goodbye Santika'.

'Everybody was pushing against each other trying to get out to the front door as quickly as possible,' said Sompong Tritaweelap, who lives in an apartment behind the nightclub. 'I saw people, particularly young girls, being pushed away and crushed underneath as others were stomping on them trying to get out.'

Mr Sompong said the fire spread through the entire building within 10 minutes.

'People were screaming for help from every window. It was a terrible sight. Their hair and clothes were on fire but there was nothing they could do as the fire engulfed them,' he said. -- AP

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