Panic gripped a hotel in Thailand’s Pattaya city on Thursday night after a fire broke out on the rooftop, forcing hundreds of guests to flee through smoke-filled corridors.
Firefighters and rescue workers rushed to the eight-storey JA Plus Hotel shortly after 9pm local time as flames spread from a rooftop restaurant to the seventh floor, according to local reports. Authorities said about 240 guests were staying in roughly 120 of the hotel’s 173 rooms when the blaze erupted, according to the Bangkok Post.
Eyewitnesses described chaotic scenes as terrified tourists scrambled for exits while rescue teams searched the building floor by floor for anyone trapped inside. Many of the guests were foreigners, including from India, China, Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Several guests suffered from smoke inhalation as thick smoke rapidly engulfed the upper floors, Pattaya Mail reported.
Four people were injured in the blaze, authorities said. Two Thai women and an Indonesian boy were treated for smoke inhalation, while a Thai man suffered burns to around 20 per cent of his body after reportedly running through flames in an attempt to escape. All four were taken to nearby hospitals.
Fire crews from Pattaya and Nong Prue municipality battled the blaze for more than an hour before bringing it under control at about 10.48pm. Authorities later confirmed that no guests were trapped inside the building.
The fire originated in a rooftop restaurant that was not being used by guests at the time. Preliminary investigations pointed to a possible electrical short circuit, although police and fire investigators said the exact cause remained under investigation, the Bangkok Post reported.
Damage was concentrated to the rooftop and sections of the seventh floor while officials ordered the temporary closure of the hotel over safety concerns. Structural inspections and further assessments were expected to continue.
The guests were moved to nearby hotels as authorities coordinated temporary accommodation.