Fire engulfs slum in Thai capital
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-04-23 15:04

Fire engulfed a slum area near the Australian and German embassies in the Thai capital on Friday, sending a huge pall of thick black smoke into the sky, Reuters witnesses said.

Fire engulfs a slum area in the Thai capital Bankgok on Friday, April 23, 2004. [Reuters]

Bangkok radio said around 200 wooden two-story houses in the neighborhood, which backs onto a police station, were ablaze. There was no immediate word on casualties.

"The flames look huge but they seem to be confined to one spot," said Sima Srimueng, a houseworker who lives nearby. "All the smoke is scary."

Fire trucks arrived at the scene, where desperate residents could be seen carrying out the contents of their homes, making it difficult for fire trucks to navigate the narrow streets.

Residents were spraying homes with water from garden hoses to stop the fire from spreading.

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