Police were investigating a horror nightclub fire today which killed at least 14 revellers and injured dozens more in Thailand.

Party-goers fled covered in flames following two massive explosions at the 'Mountain B' bar which had been built on wasteland in Sattahip, Chonburi province, around 110 miles east of the capital Bangkok.

The inferno ripped through the building shortly before 1 am. Bar-goers - including a number of tourists - were trapped inside the one-storey building and burned alive as other screaming guests rushed to escape.

One of the dead was the singer Chatchai Chuenkha, 30, who was performing with his band at the time.

Shocking pictures show the bodies of victims trapped in small spaces, piled on top of each other and ravaged by the inferno as they battled in vain to escape. Others fled the building with flames covering their bodies.

Officials were searching through the charred remains of the building on Friday morning, August 5, to find the cause of the blaze. They are also checking the paperwork of the business, which had only been open for a month.

Local media reported that the owner did not have the proper license for operating a nightclub. They were also allegedly opening after hours.

Police said that a number of dead bodies were found next to the DJ booth, which is believed to have been where the two explosions happened. The flames spread rapidly because the building was lined with highly flammable sound-insulating foam, they added.

More than 20 fire trucks along with police and ambulances arrived at the venue. At least 40 people were injured and taken to hospital.

The inferno happened around 25 miles from the popular tourist town of Pattaya.

Police Colonel Boonsong Yingyong, the deputy investigator at the region's Phlu Ta Luang Police Station, said: 'An emergency call was received shortly before 1 am informing us there had been a fire at a pub and several people were killed and injured.

'There were people who were burned running out of the building. The fire was difficult to control because inside the building there were highly flammable objects, especially sound-absorbing foam solutions.'

Police Major General Atthasit Kitchahan, commander of the Chonburi Provincial Police, said owner Ms Thanyapat Sornsuwanhiran told him there fire had begun on the roof before rapidly spreading downwards.

Several of the injured suffered the effects of smoke inhalation while others were hurt from their frantic efforts to escape the building.

Officials said it took around three hours to bring the fire under control. Police and firemen are now investigating the cause.

It comes more than 10 years after a fire at the Santika Club in the Ekkamai district of the capital Bangkok killed 66 people in 2009.

Thailand is notorious for its lack of health and safety, high levels of corruption and poor enforcement of planning laws.