AYUTTHAYA -- A fire swept through a 70-rai garbage dump in tambon Bang Rakam of Nakhon Luang district of this central province on Sunday morning.
Pairat Phetyuan, the district chief, and Boonsong Klinsawathom, the mayor of Tambon Nakhon Luang Municipality, said five fire engines, five backhoes and a large number of workers were despatched to the site to bring the fire under control.
The fire started on Sunday morning and spread quickly to a wider area because of strong winds. Smoke from the fire spread to many villages in tambons Khlong Sa Kae and Bang Rakam in Nakhon Luang district and tambons Bang Dua and Bang Pahan in Bang Pahan district.
By about noon, the fire had raced through about 60% of the dump site.
The tip contains a large quantity of garbage from areas under the jurisdiction of Tambon Nakhon Luang Municipality, Tambon Bang Pahan Municipality and Ayutthaya Municipality.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
There were no reports of casualties, but a pickup truck belonging to a garbage collector was completely gutted by the fire after he was unable to start it and remove it from the area.
District officers of Nakhon Luang and Bang Pahan sent officials to examine whether communities near the garbage dump site had been affected and the extent of the damage. The officials distributed face masks to the residents.