A mother and her young son were killed and two other family members injured as they jumped from their burning five-storey home in Bangkok’s Yannawa district in the early hours of Wednesday.
The fire on Soi Sathupradit 45 in Yannawa district was first reported about 2am.
When fire trucks arrived the flames were raging through the five-storey townhome. The building has a billboard advertising company on the ground floor with upper floors serving as a residential area.
Firefighters brought the fire under control in about 30 minutes.
Police said six people lived in the building - Thotsaphon (whose surname was not given), his wife, their 15-year-old son, their 10-year-old son, Mr Thotsaphon’s elder brother and his wife.
All were asleep when the fire began on the second floor and spread quickly to upper floors. Mr Thotsaphon’s brother and his wife lived on the third floor. They awoke, ran from their room and shouted warnings for everyone to run.
Mr Thotsaphon, his wife and children lived on the fourth floor. They headed down the stairs before he and his eldest son jumped from a second floor window to the ground. His wife and the younger son jumped from the fourth floor as the fire was already spreading to the third floor as they tried to flee.
The mother was killed by the fall. Their 10-year-old son was injured but still alive. Rescuers sent him to Lerdsin Hospital but the boy died shortly after.
