Fierce blaze destroys 14 houseboats in western Thailand

A fierce blaze at Saiyok Mantra Resort in Kaeng Pralom village caused 10 million baht worth of damage and destroyed 14 of the 16 houseboats on the Khwae Noi River in western Thailand yesterday afternoon. There were no casualties reported.

Police Captain Kasan Para, a duty investigator in Sai Yok district, revealed the fire started at around 3.45pm.

Firefighters from multiple cities were dispatched to a river bend where 16 houseboats were moored together.

The blaze started on a boat with a pool and rapidly spread, engulfing 14 boats made of flammable materials like thatched roofs. The fire was put out by 6.30pm but the damage was estimated at 10 million baht, reported Bangkok Post.

No injuries were reported. An investigation is ongoing to determine the cause.

A member of the Kanchanaburi Rescue Foundation suggested all houseboats have portable water pumps for emergencies.

The saving grace is that no one was hurt despite the blaze causing millions of baht worth of damage.

Ironically, a similar blaze struck the island of Koh Mak in Trat province earlier this month when seven speedboats docked at Thong Lang Bay were destroyed in a fire, causing 20 million baht worth of damage. A group of tourists from the mainland who had taken a day trip to the holiday island were briefly stranded as the speedboats to transport them back burned and sank. Fortunately, no one was hurt in this incident.

In December, another sea vessel went up in flames at a pier in Phuket causing damages but no injuries or deaths. The incident took place on December 11 at 7.30am in the Muang district. No one was on board the ship at the time of the fire, so there were no injuries or fatalities, but the boat did sustain severe damages.

In these cases, it has been lucky that no one died but there have been several fateful fires reported in Thailand over the past six months.

In August last year, 20 people died and 38 were injured after a fire broke out at Mountain B nightclub in Chon Buri.