A fire ripped through a nightclub popular with foreign tourists in Thailand early on Friday, leaving at least four people dead and more than 20 others injured, officials said.

Hospital workers said foreigners were among the casualties in the blaze at the Tiger disco on the island of Phuket, where rescue workers pulled the charred bodies of victims out of the smoldering wreckage.

"There are four confirmed dead. We believe they are foreign tourists but it's not yet confirmed," Phuket deputy governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada told AFP by telephone.

"The fire was caused by lightning which struck a transformer and the fire spread throughout the place," he added.

Hospital workers in the seaside resort of Patong said the injured included both Thais and foreigners.

"We received more than 20 people who sustained injuries from the Tiger Pub fire. Most are suffering from suffocation," one hospital worker said.

"Two are in critical condition from severe burns. One of them is a French man who suffered burns on his torso," she added. "The four dead bodies were burnt beyond recognition. We cannot identify even their gender."

Police kept back a crowd of onlookers as ambulances arrived to collect the casualties, according to local media.

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