Blaze Engulfs Phuket Worker Camp, Hundreds Flee in Panic

Phuket –

A massive fire tore through a large worker camp in Thalang District, Phuket, just after midnight, forcing more than 500 residents to flee in chaos. The blaze, which broke out at 12:15 a.m. opposite the Ban Bang Jo water production station in Sri Sunthorn Subdistrict, raged for over an hour before firefighters managed to bring it under control.

Firefighters told the Phuket Express that the camp, covering more than one rai and enclosed by corrugated iron sheets, housed rows of tightly packed dormitories near a residential community. When emergency crews arrived, they were met with towering flames, thick black smoke billowing into the night sky, and intermittent explosions.

Workers scrambled to save belongings and escape the inferno, creating scenes of panic as families rushed to safety. Fire crews from Sri Sunthorn Municipality, Cherng Talay Municipality, and the Cherng Talay Subdistrict Administrative Organization deployed more than 10 fire engines and seven water cannons, attacking the blaze from multiple directions to prevent it from spreading to nearby homes.

After over an hour of intense firefighting, the flames were finally subdued. Police initially suspect an electrical short circuit as the cause, though forensic investigators from Phuket Province have been called in to conduct a detailed examination. Authorities are now assessing the extent of property damage and losses.