Thai police forensic officers are combing debris in Bangkok’s world-famous Chatuchak weekend market in a bid to work out the cause of a huge fire that destroyed at least 120 shops and stalls and damaged many others on Sunday night.
Amazingly, there were no reports of injuries or fatalities.
Witnesses claim they heard sporadic explosions as the fire raged. About 20 fire engines were deployed as firefighters battled the blaze in a strong wind for over one and a half hours. Firefighters had to smash locks to gain entrance to many of the shops, which are packed tightly together, Bangkok’s English-language newspaper The Nation reported.
An early assessment of the site found the inferno had wiped out or damaged 200 shops, selling mainly ceramics, wood and silk products, over an area of about 1000 square metres.
An electrical fault is suspected.
MEANWHILE, Bangkok police are trying to find whether a bungled selfie was involved in the death of a 55-year-old man who plunged four floors to his death at Central World shopping centre near the Ratchaprasong intersection on Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok’s Pathumwan district on Tuesday.
The Thaiger news outlet quoted Pathumwan Police saying the man arrived at the shopping centre with another person. Despite social media reports that the two men were arguing before the fatal fall, police speculate the two may have been taking photos before the incident. They suspect the victim was too close to the railing and fell over it – or through it.
Written by Peter Needham
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