The new year was barely 30 minutes old when tourists and locals who had gathered at one of Bangkok’s most popular nightclubs noticed the flames.

At first they thought that the fire and tendrils of smoke spreading across the ceiling of Santika were a continuation of the spectacular pyrotechnic display they had witnessed as clocks struck midnight. Clubbers, who had been given sparklers earlier in the evening, continued their exuberant dancing as the flames rose from the stage and began to engulf the ceiling.

Realisation of the pending disaster came from the horrified reactions of the performers on stage and the intensifying heat.

Panic ensued. The estimated 800 people inside the club rushed for the exit, pushing others aside as thick, black smoke descended.

By last night, after dozens of bodies – many charred beyond recognition – had been pulled from the club, the death toll stood at 61. Many had been killed in the stampede for the exit. More than 200 others, including four Britons and holidaymakers from Australia, Japan and The Netherlands, were injured.

One mourner who attended the burnt-out building yesterday to lay flowers said that a British teacher may have been killed. The man, who identified himself only as Mark, said that his friend, a 34-year-old woman, had died attempting to escape. “I got a text message from a friend,” he said. “Her parents already know.”

But the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said last night that it did not believe that there were any Britons among the dead. It confirmed that four Britons were injured. They are Steven Hall, Alex Wargacki, Oliver Smart and another who has not been named. A spokeswoman said that consular staff in Thailand were helping those affected by the tragedy. “We are confident that there are no others injured,” she said.

Witnesses described the frantic efforts of people to escape the inferno at the club in the middle of Ekkamai, a thronging entertainment district frequented by rich Thais and tourists.

Mike Macdonald, a Canadian based in Bangkok, told how he was lucky enough to be carried out of the doors as the rush began. “I felt a blast of heat and looked above the stage to see huge flames,” he wrote on his weblog. “At first my friend and I thought it was a special effect, but the heat was too strong. At that point people had already started to move outside, and we were carried by the crowd out the main front doors.”

People nearer the stage and those in the cloakrooms in the basement were less fortunate. Montika Boontang, 28, emerged from the ladies’ lavatory just in time to see the flames surge through the ceiling and bring it crashing to the ground. “People started running for the doors and breaking the windows,” she said.

Adam Butler, 26, from Birmingham, said: “There was a pyrotechnic that launched off the stage where a band was playing. For five seconds no one took it seriously and when everyone realised it was serious there was nowhere to run. By then the flames were already above our heads.

“I was trampled but I managed to get back to my feet. Then my leg got trapped in the crush to get up the stairs from the basement.” He managed to tug his leg free and escape.

People who watched from outside said that bars on the windows prevented those inside from escaping. Sompong Tritaweelap, who lives in a flat behind the club, said that people were screaming for help.

“It was a terrible sight. Their hair and clothes were on fire, but there was nothing they could do as the fire engulfed them. Everybody was pushing against each other trying to get out to the door as quickly as possible. I saw people, particularly young girls, being pushed away and crushed underneath as others were stomping on them trying to get out.”

Another witness described how people being carried on stretchers fell off as rescue workers rushed to carry them away. Pickup trucks were used to transport bodies from the scene. The injured were taken to 14 hospitals around the city.

Major-General Chokchai Deeprasertwit said that the fire may have been caused by firecrackers brought into Santika by guests or by sparks flying from a new year countdown display on the stage.

Police said that most bodies were recovered from the basement. Lieutenant-Colonel Prawit Kantwol said: “It appears that the fire started from the area of the stage where a band was playing. There were some pyrotechnics and it appears that they started the blaze.”

Abhisit Vejjajiva, the Thai Prime Minister, visited the injured at one hospital and the charred building. He said that fire crackers should not have been brought into the club.

Bangkok’s nightspots, some of which can accommodate several thousand people, have often been the subject of safety concerns although they have been incident-free for five years. Local politicians appealed for an overhaul of regulations, forcing nightclubs to install better sprinkler systems and emergency exits.

The Thai capital was hit on New Year’s Eve two years ago by a series of small explosions in which several people were killed and dozens injured.

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