Elderly rice farmer dies in field blaze in Udon Thani
A tragic incident occurred yesterday in Udon Thani province where a 73 year old rice farmer perished in a blaze that swept through his field.
Police Deputy Inspector Niwat Jaengkrathok of Huai Luang Police Station, alongside medical personnel from Udon Thani Hospital Center and the Sawang Metha Tham rescue team, responded to the distress call at Ban Naklong, in the Mueang district.
Amidst the charred remains of rice straw, the rice farmer, Bualong’s body lay scorched by the fire that had engulfed the paddy field. Earlier that afternoon, his 41 year old daughter-in-law, Tipwaly, had seen him at home enjoying a meal. Upon her return from the market at 5pm, Bualong was nowhere to be found, prompting a search that led to the devastating discovery.
Tipwaly recounted the harrowing moments when she ventured into the fields and initially saw someone burning rice straw. Believing it to be her father-in-law, she approached only to find a knife on the ground, which filled her with a sense of dread. Her calls went unanswered, and her worst fears were confirmed upon finding Bualong’s body. She reflected on previous warnings to him not to burn the fields that day due to the stormy conditions and strong winds, reported KhaoSod.
Preliminary investigations suggest that the combination of intense heat and Bualong’s old age may have caused him to faint or collapse, leaving him at the mercy of the flames.
In related news, a commercial building in Pattaya was engulfed in flames last Thursday night, resulting in two individuals injured. The fire broke out at 7.06pm at a structure within the Ta Kian Tia sub-district of the Bang Lamung District in Chon Buri Province. The building was known to accommodate a shop selling kratom juice.
In other news, a single-storey concrete house was engulfed in flames, leading to extensive damage and a call for those responsible to come forward. This incident, which occurred on March 24, is believed to have originated from local farmers illegally burning rice straw in nearby fields, causing the fire to spread uncontrollably.
