The cause of the fire remained unclear but police said investigators were focusing on whether the blaze was sparked by a countdown fireworks display organised by the club owners or by firecrackers brought in by guests.

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

Maj-Gen Jongrak said insurance fraud had been ruled out as a motive but that police had since 2004 refused Santika an operational licence because of safety concerns.

The club's management had been seeking an injunction from the administrative court, and it was allowed to remain open while the case progressed.

The fire broke out shortly after the midnight countdown and raced through the two-storey club, located in Bangkok's popular Ekkamai district. Scores were trapped as they tried to flee through one main door.

Survivors gave harrowing accounts of the scenes of panic and fear inside the packed nightclub, which has a capacity of 1,000 people.

Mr Thanawut Santhong, who lost three friends, told the Bangkok Post newspaper that fire broke out within an hour of revellers ringing in the New Year.

He said each guest was given a sparkler to light up during the countdown to 2009, but suddenly smoke engulfed the club and all the lights went out.

'People were in panic after the blackout,' he said. 'The situation became worse as people screamed 'fire' and tried to escape.'

Ms Nicole Trau, an Austrian who survived the blaze, told the Austria Press Agency that she watched in horror as 'people were simply trampled underfoot'.

Early reports by police suggested the inferno might have been caused by a pyrotechnics display on stage soon after the New Year countdown.

Dozens of bodies wrapped in white cotton sheets were moved from the club to the police headquarters, many of them charred beyond recognition.

Nineteen charred bodies were still unidentified. A police official told AFP that unclaimed bodies would have to be identified by DNA tests.

Police have posted photos of victims outside a Bangkok police station in the hope that families can help identify them, and are also looking for the owners of 28 cars left at the club's parking lot.

Emergency services headquarters secretary Chatree Charoencheewakul said the latest death toll was 59, with 86 of the 200 injured still in hospital, 38 in intensive care.

Outside the gutted club, families of the dead accompanied by Buddhist monks gave offerings and said prayers for the dead.

People placed incense, flowers, fruit and even a flashlight for the dead on a table in front of the barricaded building.

'I am very sad,' said 22-year-old Achara Porn, whose husband died.

'I hope this kind of incident doesn't happen again in Thailand. I want to express my condolences to the families of the dead and I hope their souls rest in peace.'

Interior Minister Chavarat Charnvirakul said 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.

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

'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.'

Many of the trapped party-goers died of smoke inhalation, while others were crushed to death in the stampede to get out of the front exit.

There was a back exit as well, but it was known only to staff members.

Fire brigade officials have said the death toll was so high because there were few exits and the windows on the upper floors had iron bars across them.

Some victims were also trapped in the basement of the club.

Meanwhile, China has offered to provide Thailand with US$500,000 (S$730,000) to treat the victims after Bangkok appealed for humanitarian aid.

Chinese skin-grafting experts have also offered to treat blaze victims, the Xinhua news agency reported.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS, ASSOCIATED PRESS

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